The data that proves the first wave of coronavirus is far from over

[Nevilledog]

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/coronavirus-second-wave

Since the pandemic began, the threat of a second, deadlier wave of coronavirus has captured the public imagination. The fear, which provokes viral Facebook posts and influences government strategy, is that this pandemic will follow a trajectory similar to that of the 1918 Spanish flu. Two-thirds of the 50 million who died would do so from October to December 1918, during a so-called “second wave”. But this fear may be misdirected. T he world is still yet to hit the peak of the first wave. And, until we get a vaccine, it likely never will.

Across the world, the pandemic is still accelerating. The first case was reported in China in late December. It took three months from that date to reach one million cases. The leap from 12 million cases to 13 million cases took just five days. A Reuters tally puts the total number of dead at 570,000. Daily deaths peaked in mid-April at 10,000 a day; since then they have hovered around the 5,000 mark.

Countries continue to break grim records. In Latin America, where the disease is accelerating fastest, Brazil reported another 24,000 cases on July 12, bringing its total to 1.87 million. India, initially successful at containing the virus, reported a record spike on July 11 – 27,114 cases – taking the national total to more than 800,000.

In the world’s worst-hit nation, the United States, 20 states and Puerto Rico reported a record-high average of new infections over the past week, according to the Washington Post. Five states — Arizona, California, Florida, Mississippi and Texas — also broke records for average daily fatalities in that period. The US total is now more than 3,290,000 cases and 132,000 deaths. “In most of the world, the virus is not under control,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week. “It is getting worse.”

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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Maybe this is it.

Maybe this is the end of homo sapiens.

It will take a long time, but if those infected never really recover, if herd immunity is simply a pipe dream for this disease, if re-infection or second infection can occur, if no good vaccine is found, this is it.

We've had a good run, but like all good things it must come to an end.

[roamer65]

2. This is the beginning of the end for overpopulation.

With pandemics, economic stagnation, wars and the global climate crisis the death rates will go higher and birth rates will drop.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. It's important to understand that right now, even with this pandemic,

births are outnumbering deaths by some 200,000 each and every day. We have a long way to go.

[BigmanPigman]

3. Maybe that is what it will take to save the animals and plants from

homo sapien created climate change. Karma!

[smirkymonkey]

5. This really scares me.

Not just for myself, but I know that if this gets worse, and I think it will, we will all be deeply affected by it in that we will know someone or many people who will die from it.

I don't want to be pessimistic, but I can't help it. I feel that the next six months are going to be the worst of our collective lifetimes. Not just with the virus, but with the economy, our dysfunctional, splintered society and the unlimited amount of hell that Trump can unleash upon us before (and IF) he leaves office.

I really wish I could just be sedated until Spring 2021.