David Weber, MD, MPH, professor of medicine in infectious diseases, said the term “second wave” has been used to describe trends during past outbreaks, including the 1918 influenza and 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto, in a recent Washington Post interview.
In those instances, unlike most countries’ coronavirus outbreaks, “they essentially got down to zero” new infections before a second surge, Weber said. “If you got down to no cases it would count potentially as a new wave,” he told the Washington Post.
But few places have banished the virus only to see it return, while many have seen infection levels drop amid lockdowns and rise as economies restart.
“This is going to wax and wane,” he said. “It’s worldwide now. It’s not going away.”
Read the Washington Post article here.