The World Health Organization (WHO) has just dashed any hopes that the coronavirus might disappear over the summer.
Instead the UN health body is now urging the world to brace itself for “one big wave” of infections.
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WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a virtual briefing in Geneva that this virus does not behave like influenza that tends to follow seasonal trends.
“People are still thinking about seasons. What we all need to get our heads around is this is a new virus and … this one is behaving differently,” she said.
RT reports: Harris warned that there will be “one big wave” of coronavirus infections that will “go up and down a bit,” instead of several distinct waves one after another. “The best thing is to flatten it and turn it into just something lapping at your feet,” she said
Many European countries have been gradually lifting or relaxing their quarantine restrictions since May. Because there is still no vaccine, the governments are calibrating their Covid-19 response while bracing for a potential second wave of the infection.
Asian countries, like China and South Korea, as well as several US states were forced to re-impose some of the lockdown measures after infection rates went up again and new coronavirus hotspots were discovered.
Harris reiterated the call to slow the spread of the virus by avoiding mass gatherings. This has proven to be challenging in recent months due to recurring large-scale anti-racism and police brutality protests in a number of Western countries.
Niamh Harris