Coronavirus-19 began in China and spread westward across Eurasia before hitting America. The United States had been monitoring the situation closely, but was criticized for their late action on the pandemic, not taking action until March. First, school shut down, airports, gyms, and life. Admittedly, no one was super excited about it. But, we all did lockdown and figured out ways to work through it. Although, lockdown does not seem to be the end. A second wave is approaching from Europe and it seems we have just been in the eye of the hurricane and the worst is yet to come. 

The second wave of increased Covid cases was first noticed in Asia. Around August/September, nations started reporting resurgences of coronavirus hitting much quicker than the first wave. CNBC reported that in China, “The new cases found in Wuhan were the first in the city in more than a month”. China has been in a continuous state of flux when dealing with the restrictions with Covid; other countries have also had extreme restrictions; The Telegraph is reporting that Indonesia is taking a hard stance against Covid. With Indonesia’s new law, those who break quarantine receive a variety of punishments from “pushups” to “digging graves for coronavirus victims who have died”. Other Asian countries, like South Korea and Japan, are seeing their Covid confirmed cases almost doubling.

The second wave has spread across Europe as well. The Telegraph reported that British cases are “almost doubling each week” and Britain will now go into a “second lockdown [which] will be much stricter”. This is worrisome because a lot of people in the United Kingdom have expressed their anger at the possibility of a second lockdown and their disappointment because one of their own leader’s aides, Dominic Cummings, flouted the rule. France reintroduced lockdown procedure on October 30 as Covid deaths in France reached their highest since April. However, factories and schools remain open and therefore the new lockdown is not as successful as the first. CNBC says that France’s Covid confirmed cases dropped sharply at first to only increase rapidly at the end of the first week of November. Austria, too, is reporting positive cases nine times higher than their highest reporting during the first wave. This is a concerning statistic because it means that the second wave is already much more infectious than the first one. Many other European countries have done the same as the Covid rates are rising as secondary lockdown is becoming more common. Sweden took a different approach, letting the country stay largely open to attain herd immunity. This method backfired, and now the second wave is occurring and Sweden has not officially sent people into a lockdown. CNBC’s report states, “In recent days, infections and hospital admissions have surged, and several regions have brought in tighter controls – though people are asked, rather than legally obliged, to comply with most measures”. When asking Middle and Upper School Nurse, Emily Green, on the topic of herd immunity, she states, “There is no way to predict when people will be able to establish herd immunity because people do not know the virus well enough. Herd immunity is an evolutionary process, not a primary option.” Sweden was an experiment that the world was watching and the results of it reminds countries of the effects of herd immunity and Covid-19.

So, what does that mean for all of the U.S.? A secondary lockdown is likely in the works. The projections show a second wave is going to hit the US very soon. Another lockdown will be very different from the first one. With more information about the virus, lockdown will be much stricter. President elect Joe Biden has formed a team for the CDC which has a lot of experience in the medical field, and is likely to be far tougher on the virus than President Trump. Although many state governments and individual citizens have protested the lockdown and probably will protest another one. Defining what is essential work and non essential work in the second wave will be important to the total lockdown and what it looks like. Everything is circumstantial and up in the air but the likelihood of a severe second lockdown is rising quickly.

Wilmington Friends School is dealing with the virus as well. With students virtual or in person wearing masks, Wilmington Friends looks much different today than it did last year. Emily Green, Upper and Middle School Nurse, when asked about the possibility of a second lockdown says; “From a health standpoint, a secondary lockdown seems to be a logical way to stop the spread of the virus.” Which is valid. Biden’s elect for the CDC is recommending the U.S. to go into a stronger secondary lockdown as well. Estelle Henegbarth ’21, when asked for her perspective on secondary lockdown she muses; “Although I am not fully aware of the situation, I do think that the secondary lockdown is inevitable. I am just waiting for the when.” Caroline Vanderloo ’22, agrees with Estelle’s statement, saying; “Ultimately, I believe that there will be a second lockdown. Though it will probably not happen for a while, I think we should have one sooner rather than later.” Now remember, Green reminds us all, “We do not know enough about this virus yet. Covid-19 is only a year old”. Just keep that in mind when going about our day to day lives.