The coronavirus pandemic has often been compared to the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, which lasted for two years. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization said that most likely, the current pandemic will be overcome in a shorter time than the 1918 flu.
He says this confidently due to current scientific methods and modern technology. Dr. Ghebreyesus also believes that "with more [connectedness], the virus has a better chance of spreading," but we have the knowledge and technological means to put an end to coronavirus. He believes that the pandemic may soon be overcome with national unity, global solidarity.
In 1918, the world faced an H1N1 influenza pandemic that claimed over 50 million lives while infecting about 30 percent of global populations, or about 500 million people. Currently, coronavirus has already infected over 22 million people, with nearly 800,000 deaths.
COVID-19 'Not Under Control'
The previous pandemic also arrived in three waves, with the second wave as the deadliest. Michael Ryan, the WHO's emergency chief, said, "It took three waves for the disease to infect most of the susceptible individuals."
Some experts had hoped for a similar trend with coronavirus since the once deadly influenza became a seasonal bug that returns every year. Ryan explains otherwise, saying that the coronavirus "is not displaying a similar wave-like pattern. Clearly, when the disease is not under control, it jumps straight back up."
Scientists and medical experts had a recent shift of focus from high-risk groups to students returning to schools in the past few weeks. On August 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their school reopening guidelines after thousands of students around the country had been placed under quarantine after in-person classes.
The CDC guidelines for operating schools include promoting behaviors to reduce viral spread, maintenance of healthy environments and operations, and preparing for any positive cases. The guidelines also state, "COVID-19 poses low risks to school-aged children—at least in areas with low community transmission."
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College Parties
However, several college campuses and universities have gone back to online classes after a sudden spike in positive cases. In Indiana, the University of Notre Dame reported over 300 students tested positive this week after campus reopened on August 3. Reverend John Jenkins, the school's president, shared that the restrictions are temporary, and they hope to contain the viral spread so that students can safely return to in-person classes.
Even worse, Covid-19 spreading between college students is most likely due to parties and not face-to-face contact in classrooms. At the University of Kentucky, there had been over 20 parties for the past two weekends.
Other campuses such as East Carolina University faces the same problem as the positivity rate has reached 3 percent. Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson shared that during the weekend, they see "a small but visible fraction of our total student body scare us and the community with parties that are too large, too dense, unmasked, and irresponsible."
READ: What We Can Learn From South Korea on Reopening Schools
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