Coronavirus Second Wave: What to expect?

A Coronavirus second wave is not out of the question. Some speculate that it is inevitable in some areas, while others say that countries are already going through it. In all cases, what can individuals, governments, and businesses expect in the near future?

From a more positive perspective, the world has learned a lot from the pandemic. A year ago, not many would have imagined that a single man coughing in China would lead to stock market crashes in the United states. The world learned how ill-prepared it was for a virus of this sort, and the factors that led to its spread were highlighted. As such, governments are scaling the response to the pandemic and businesses are developing more rigorous contingency plans to ensure that a future outbreak will not impact them in the same way.

Well, that brings us to the bad news. We’re not getting a vaccine within the year. Scientists, researchers and medical professionals who have worked tirelessly to produce a vaccine can only deliver so much in such a short period of time. Drugs that alleviate symptoms and stop people from dying, which none can deny is a spectacular development, are all we can hope for in the near future.

The idea isn’t just to invent the vaccine, but to produce enough doses, distribute and vaccinate literally billions of people. The size and scale of such an endeavor would take more than a few celebrities offering donations to say the least.

Healthcare professionals speculate that a Coronavirus second wave will happen in clusters.

Given that governments have been forced to develop some measures of containment, these procedures and protocols should always be ready to respond. Anti-Coronavirus task forces and pre-prepared medical facilities will become a reality. Authorities will have to use all the tools developed for the pandemic’s resurgence.

With that said, it appears that in the coming year, and perhaps beyond, the habits and precautions picked up during the height of the pandemic may persist. More meetings will take place online, more jobs will be conducted from home. More people will be wearing masks more often, and hygiene will mean more than showering once a day.

Remote schooling, telemedicine, delivery drones, driverless vehicles, and general automation and digitization will continue to expand and become more commonplace.

This is neither the first nor the last pandemic the world will see thus people and communities will have to make necessary lifestyle changes. If done correctly and proactively, a second wave can be contained.