COVID-19 is once again spreading across most of the United States, affecting rural America and smaller cities and increasing anxiety in New York as experts warn that schools and the weather are more cold can cause the situation to deteriorate rapidly.
Although the virus has declined in populous states like California and Florida, it is wreaking unprecedented havoc in the Midwest and reappearing incipiently in parts of the Northeast.
“The weather report is darkly cloudy with more storms on the horizon,” said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Medical professionals have long warned of a resurgence of the new coronavirus as colder temperatures in North America drive people indoors and many jurisdictions reopen schools. Knowing that, the scientists rushed to prepare a vaccine. But even if it is approved, it is unlikely to reach the majority of the public for many months.
Meanwhile, most of the attention has focused on President Donald Trump, who remains hospitalized with the disease that has killed some 210,000 Americans so far.
Schaffner said the lack of adequate social distancing and masking in rural areas can be combined with cold weather and a flu on the horizon, possibly resulting in a “twin”.
