Report: CDC Director Warns A Second Coronavirus Wave Would Be ‘Even More Difficult’

The first wave hit the U.S. just as the flu season was winding down, a small blessing in Redfield’s eyes; if the two outbreaks had hit at the same time, “it could have been really, really, really, really difficult in terms of health capacity,” Redfield said in an interview with The Washington Post.

The first coronavirus pandemic wave has infected more than 800,000 Americans and killed nearly 43,000 as of Tuesday afternoon, as well as overpowered hospitals and led to shortages in protective equipment, ventilators and coronavirus tests.

As coronavirus crackdowns ease up, Redfield stressed the importance of state and federal officials using the next few months to prevent another coronavirus wave through ramping up testing and by increasing the capacity for contact tracing—tracking whom an infected person may have come into contact with—along with continuing to encourage social distancing, even once society reopens.

Americans can help the effort by getting a flu shot this year—keeping hospitalizations for the usual flu strain down “may allow there to be a hospital bed available for your mother or grandmother that may get coronavirus,” Redfield said.