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The coronavirus pandemic has taken a backseat in the news cycle, but it has not gone away. In fact, this week, confirmed COVID-19 cases have topped 2 million in the United States, according to the latest numbers from Johns Hopkins University.
Overall, there are more 7.3 million confirmed cases of the virus worldwide, with 416,000 deaths.
The news comes as states across the country begin to reopen and ease their safety measures that were put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus. Since reopening, 22 states have seen an increase in new coronavirus cases.
And as the cases continue to rise, experts keep warning of a potential second wave coming this fall.
“Even if we don’t have increasing cases, even if we keep things flat, it’s reasonable to expect that we’re going to hit 200,000 deaths sometime during the month of September,” said Harvard’s Global Health Institute head Ashish Jha, via CBS News. “And that’s just through September. The pandemic won’t be over in September.”
It is an important reminder that we all need to continue being safe even as states begin to relax their safety measures.
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The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 2.06 million deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
