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COVID-19 Cases in the U.S. Crater Over 40% This Week: Report

As the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. craters over 40%, CDC experts say they believe the virus will become seasonal like the flu.

According to NBC News, the U.S. is now averaging a total of 49,569 new COVID per day. This is notably a decrease of more than 54% over the past two weeks. Along with the new case decreases, COVID-19 related death numbers are also continuing to fall. Deaths are averaging 1,533 per day, which is considered a reduction of about a third over the past two weeks. 

Meanwhile, the head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, states that COVID-19 is likely here to stay and will have a pattern that is similar to the seasonal flu. “I do anticipate that this is probably going to be a seasonal virus.”

What to Know

  • CDC Director Dr. Rocehlle Walensky says she anticipates that COVID-19 is going to become a seasonal virus.
  • CDC officials also share that COVID-19 will never go away. Instead, it will hit low levels and rise in the winter.
  • Director of CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response reports that he hopes the most recent surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant will be the last real large surge of the virus. 
  • COVID-19 new cases and death numbers are continuing to decrease. 

CDC Officials Report that COVID-19 Is Here to Stay And Will Become Seasonal 

While also discussing COVID-19’s presence in the U.S., Dr. Henry Walke, the Director of the CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response tells NBC News that the virus will probably continue to circulate in society, the country, and around the world for years to come. “This next six months, the next year, will really inform us in terms of what living with this virus is going to look like.”

Walke goes on to explain that he hopes that the most recent COVID-19 surge, caused by the omicron variant will be the last real surge from the virus. 

Although the CDC recently announced that 90% of the people in the U.S. may take their masks off now, Dr. Walensky doesn’t guarantee the masks will be gone forever. It’s definitely possible that they may make a comeback if COVID-19 cases surge again.

“I would say put your masks in a drawer, anticipate you may need them again,” Dr. Walensky explains. “And hope that we don’t. We may want to be more vigilant during some seasons. Maybe during the respiratory season, if things ramped up. We would want to put on our mask again to protect both from flu and from COVID and from all other respiratory diseases.”

Despite the recent optimism, Walke says he expects additional variants of COVID-19 to emerge. “This virus has surprised us against and against and again. We don’t know what the future holds.”