Predictions Regarding the End of the Coronavirus Pandemic
The new coronavirus which emerged last year in China has spread extensively worldwide and has been drastically changing people’s lives ever since. Due to the related restrictions, many have changed their work schedule, adopted new routines, even got a combo kit in order tostart fixing or building things around the house since now we have to spend almost all of our time indoors. Despite living in different countries and facing different restrictions, there is one common thought that we all share these days – when will we see the end of this pandemic?
Will the pandemic end simultaneously?
The new coronavirus (SARS CoV2) didn’t spread simultaneously across the Globe, so it is safe to assume that it will not end at the same time either. While there are different predictions regarding the end of this dire period, it is worth highlighting from the beginning that, most probably, each country will set its own timeline for going back to a resemblance of normality once they will reach the peak of the outbreak.
The same might apply across the US. The situation is not homogeneous here either as some states like New York face a more aggressive spread of the virus while others register lower numbers of COVID-19 patients.
We may, therefore, assume that turning back to normal will look differently depending on where you live and while your friends in the neighboring state will be allowed to turn back to work, you might still need to bear a little longer with stay-at-home orders.
How long will the virus be around?
It is hard to give an estimate regarding how long we will have to deal with this virus for different reasons. One of them is the fact that this is a new type of coronavirus that scientists have only studied for the past few months. They still cannot predict whether the virus will gradually cease to spread and cause fatalities once we get over the peak or once a vaccine will be available.
Based on past experiences, however, we can point out that a pandemic generally lasts somewhere between 1 and 3 years. Most scientists predict that the novel coronavirus will continue to spread for the months to come. This may continue to disrupt health systems worldwide, but it will also give people the chance to build herd immunity which is believed to be beneficial as the impact of the virus will stop being so devastating.
Moreover, let’s focus on the positive side which is the fact that many countries are working relentlessly to develop a vaccine.
Should we prepare for months of lockdown?
This depends largely on where you live. As highlighted before, the novel coronavirus doesn’t affect all states and countries to the same extent. Therefore, during the next few weeks, it is possible to see some restrictions lifted, provided that specialists confirm the peak is reached and the number of new cases and deaths begins to subside.
Some people may be able to return to work earlier, while others may have to wait for several months to do this or simply get used to working from home for an undetermined period. Currently, there are several countries in Europe that plan to ease the lockdown restrictions in the near future.
Also, we are still waiting to see how this decision impacts Wuhan, the place where the pandemic originated, and where the lockdown ended only a few days ago.
In conclusion, we do not know yet when the pandemic will be over, but what most experts agree on is that we will probably continue to apply certain social distancing measures for the next months, along with travel restrictions, and a limited array of public services.
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