Epidemiologists uncertain whether long-feared autumn second wave of COVID-19 will materialize

The grim milestone of 200,000 reported COVID-19 deaths is a reminder of how quickly the coronavirus can spread and a warning of what could happen as the nation enters autumn.

Indeed, the fall could see a new “wave” of the virus and not a “surge.” A surge is merely a spike in COVID-19 cases within a particular wave. There isn’t exactly a formal definition of a wave, but new COVID-19 cases in the United States had been declining or “receding” much like a wave since mid-August. A new wave may be on its way, as cases have increased over the last seven days.