The director of the Centers for Disease Control has warned that the United States should brace for a resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak as the climate gets colder toward the end of 2020.
In an interview on Good Morning America on Wednesday, Dr. Robert Redfield predicted that just like other respiratory diseases that are more active during colder periods, the coronavirus can make a comeback.
Redfield said in the interview with host George Stephanopoulos, who recently revealed he had contracted Covid-19, that we have to assume the novel coronavirus "is like other respiratory viruses, and there will be a seasonality to it."
The CDC chief said that nobody will know for sure, "until we see it." Redfield stressed that it is very important to prepare that this virus will follow a seasonality pattern similar to the flu, and "we're going to have another battle with it up-front next winter."
Redfield admitted that authorities were not totally ready for the ongoing health crisis as he assured viewers that the CDC is doing everything it can to prevent the coronavirus' from returning again.
The infectious disease agency is doing its best to strengthen measures so that as the US enters the next season everyone will have the capability to contain the diseases while authorities complement that with some consistent mitigation policies.
In order to do this, Redfield said the US must fast-track and boost its testing capacity and impose other control strategies like contact tracing to equip the nation's medical workforce and other concerned agencies for the possibility of the next pandemic.
Redfield went on to praise every American, saying that the original death projections surpassed 2 million fatalities and that the estimated death numbers in the country is much lower after major cities and states were put under stay-at-home orders.
So far, over 614,000 confirmed coronavirus diagnoses have been confirmed in the U.S., resulting in more than 26,000 deaths, data provided by the Johns Hopkins University showed.
While US President Donald Trump has been pressing the country's governors to reopen the nation back to business as early as May 1, the CDC is already setting its sights in advance to the fall season, when new social distancing measures could be required.
Redfield disclosed the CDC is currently collaborating with officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the White House coronavirus task force in laying plans to slowly lift the country's lockdowns.
