Johns Hopkins expert warns 2nd virus wave looming in US

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) – A second wave of coronavirus cases is emerging in the US, an expert of Maryland-based Johns Hopkins University warned amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests and state reopenings.

"There is a new wave coming in parts of the country," Eric Toner, a senior scholar for Health Security, said Wednesday, as quoted by Bloomberg. "It’s small and it’s distant so far, but it’s coming."

Toner said that the rising infections outpace rise in testing in some states and it is raising concerns whether the outbreak can be controlled.

It will take a couple of weeks to know the exact situation, the expert said, adding that by then it is going to be "pretty late" to respond.

The US, the worst-hit country by coronavirus, has passed the 2 million mark of cases as of Thursday, according to a running tally of Johns Hopkins. It has nearly 113,000 fatalities and over 533,500 recoveries.

As of May 20, each state that had imposed a stay-at-home order or shelter had begun lifting restrictions on businesses and public spaces.

Recently, a peak in coronavirus cases has been seen in many parts of the country.

Texas on Wednesday reported the highest single-day tally of infections during the outbreak with 2,504 cases.

Florida recorded 8,553 cases this week as completing the first month of reopening, which is the most of any seven days.

In California, hospitalizations severely increased since May 13.

Another expert from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine said that a second wave is building in Arizona, Texas, Florida, and California.

Arizona "sticks out like a sore thumb in terms of a major problem," according to Jeffrey Morris, director of the division of biostatistics.