A World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson recently described the coronavirus pandemic as “one big wave” and cautioned against complacency in the northern hemisphere summer.
“We are in the first wave. It’s going to be one big wave. It’s going to go up and down a bit. The best thing is to flatten it and turn it into just something lapping at your feet,” Margaret Harris, the spokesperson, recently said in a virtual briefing, according to 360aproko report published Tuesday.
Referencing heightened case numbers during the summer in the U.S., Harris also “urged vigilance in applying measures and warned against mass gatherings,” the outlet reported.
“People are still thinking about seasons. What we all need to get our heads around is this is a new virus and … this one is behaving differently,” she said. “Summer is a problem. This virus likes all weather.”
She said WHO is monitoring coronavirus cases occurring alongside normal seasonal influenza cases amid the southern hemisphere’s winter, adding that lab samples are suggesting a delayed start to flu season, per Reuters.
“If you have an increase in a respiratory illness when you already have a very high burden of respiratory illness, that puts even more pressure on the health system,” she said, urging people to be vaccinated against flu.
