COVID-19 News: European Health Chief Says Second Wave Of SARS-CoV-2 Is Imminent And Going To Be Worse
Source: COVID-19 News May 21, 2020 4 years, 7 months, 1 day, 19 hours, 48 minutes ago
COVID-19 News: The chief of the European Union health advisory body on infections on Thursday warned of an imminent second wave of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections, as countries across the continent ease tough lockdown measures.
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The director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Dr Andrea Ammon said that it was not a question of if there will be a renewed surge but "when and how big".
Dr Ammon told the media that immunity statistics from around Europe were not encouraging and that "85 percent to 90 percent" of people were still susceptible to COVID-19.
She said, "The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is around us, circulating much more than the early part of 2020 (ie the months of January and February).”
She further added, "I do not want to draw a doomsday picture but I think we have to be realistic. The next wave could be far worse. That it is not the time now to completely relax."
So far Europe has seen more than 173,000 deaths in the global pandemic. Most have been in Britain, Italy, Spain and France.
However stay-at-home restrictions put in place to cut the spread of the virus have begun to be lifted, given indications the number of cases had passed its peak.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control or ECDC, based in Sweden, advises governments on infectious disease control in the 27 countries of the European Union, plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and the United Kingdom.
Dr Ammon said lockdown restrictions have caused "strain", hitting business and people unused to having their freedoms curtailed.
However she said the risk of a second wave was increased because "people think it is over, which it is definitely not, despite the fall in infections.”
Dr Ammon warned that governments underestimated the speed of the spread of COVID-19, and pinpointed the return of holidaymakers from Alpine skiing trips in early March as a pivotal moment.
She further added, "I am pretty sure that this contributed to the wide spread of in Europe, and it might have been possible to slow the spread had governments imposed lockdowns earlier.”
Dr Ammon said she was not optimistic the SARS0CoV-2 coronavirus would disappear quickly. It seems to be very well adapted to humans."
Certain medical, genomic and virology researchers across the world are warning that the SARS-C0V-2 is not only evolving but mutating in a very “intelligent” manner could not only wreak havoc in the coming second wave but also cause s series of unstoppable chronic medical conditions in those who have recovered or who have been infected with it but survived. Many are also warning that despite all the news in the media, a successful vaccine will never emerge to deal with the ever evolving SARS-C0V-2 coronavirus.
Interestingly, Thailand Medical News would like to add that most people are living in denial about the seriousness of the COVID-19 disease and what the future implications are to even have the virus in one’s body.
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It is normal for people to not want to know the fearful truth and to focus on financial issues of their lives. But by being ignorant and not better prepared, there are either going to suffer more or lose more including the possibility of their own lives.
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