MONTGOMERY, Ala. — As Americans are returning to work after the holiday weekend, concerns turn to a second peak in coronavirus cases as the United States gets close to another grim milestone.
Memorial Day weekend was the first big test for Americans in this pandemic, with states loosening restrictions for the holiday weekend.
But for some, all that fun has now turned to fear at the future.
“It gives me pause to think about what we may see in the next week or two when people get back to their communities from vacationing down in the Gulf Coast,” said Montgomery, Ala. Mayor Steven Reed.
While some heeded warnings, it seems others did not – no social distancing, no masks.
In Alabama, some crowds celebrated closely at beaches.
In Missouri, a packed pool party has officials now urging self-quarantine for 14 days.
In Illinois, hundreds defied stay-at-home orders at a biker bar.
“We still have a little bit of ways to go to beat this virus. we’re just not there yet, and we have to get people to understand that, or we’re going to have a second wave that’s going to cost us much more than it already has,” said Mayor Reed.
All of this comes as Johns Hopkins University shows the US inching closer to 100,000 coronavirus deaths.
The World Health Organization’s Dr. Mike Ryan says globally there may be a second peak within the first wave of cases.
“The disease can jump up any time. We cannot make assumptions that just because the disease is on the way down now it’s going to keep going down,” he said.
Dr. Ryan warns a second peak or wave could come during the normal flu season.
Another company has also announced a potential coronavirus vaccine that is now entering human trials, making it the 10th company worldwide to do so.
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