CDC Director: Next coronavirus wave in late fall

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned the country may be hit by a second wave of COVID-19 cases in late fall.

Speaking to NPR-affiliate WABE, Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC director and virologist, addressed a potential second wave of infections which may emerge after the spike in hospitalizations and deaths forecast for April or May in models used by the Trump administration.

The CDC is preparing “most likely, for another wave that we would anticipate in the late fall, early winter where there will still be a substantial portion of Americans that are susceptible,” Redfield said.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. is the country with the most coronavirus cases, with over 189,600 of the more than 860,100 total confirmed since the virus emerged from China in late December 2019. More than 4,000 people have died in the U.S. compared to the 3,300 deaths reported in China.