CDC director warns second wave of coronavirus could be 'even more difficult'

(Image credit: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

published 21 April 2020

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield on Tuesday warned that in the winter, a second wave of the coronavirus could be "even more difficult than the one we just went through" because it will likely coincide with the beginning of flu season.

"When I've said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don't understand what I mean," Redfield told The Washington Post. "We're going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time."

More than 42,000 people have died of coronavirus in the United States, with cases overwhelming hospitals across the country. Concurrent coronavirus and flu outbreaks would cause more of a strain, Redfield said, adding that had this coronavirus outbreak arrived at the beginning of the regular flu season rather than the end, "it could have been really, really, really, really difficult in terms of health capacity."

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Federal and state officials must use the next few months to get prepared for a rough winter, Redfield said, and he suggested officials continue to encourage social distancing, which has made an "enormous impact" on the outbreak, and increase testing and contact tracing. He also wants officials to remind Americans during the fall to get their flu shots, which "may allow there to be a hospital bed available for your mother or grandmother that may get coronavirus." Read more at The Washington Post.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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