Could the U.S. See Another Covid Wave?

The Daily

The New York Times

News, Daily News

4.5 • 97.8K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2022

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

More than two years into the pandemic, coronavirus infections are surging in China and nations in Europe. The reason: BA.2, a highly contagious version of the Omicron variant. At the same time, the United States is doing away with a number of pandemic restrictions, with mask mandates ending and businesses no longer requiring proof of vaccination from customers. We explore what these BA.2 surges look like and ask whether the U.S. is ready for a new wave of Covid cases. Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. This is the Daily.
0:07.0	More than two years into the pandemic, coronavirus infections are surging in China and Europe,
0:19.0	at precisely the time that restrictions in the US have fallen away.
0:24.0	Today, my colleague, Apurva Mundavili, on whether the US is ready for a new wave of cases,
0:32.0	and who it would most likely affect.
0:37.0	It's Monday, March 21st.
0:45.0	Apurva, the first thing I want to ask you, it's really been on my mind, and I think probably it's been a lot of people's minds.
0:52.0	Where are we in the lifespan of this pandemic? Are we officially done with a pandemic?
1:00.0	I know what you want me to say, but I think the pandemic is done for some of us. That's the best I can do.
1:09.0	I think the pandemic is still very much alive and happening in many parts of the world.
1:15.0	I mean, look at places like China.
1:18.0	China is facing its worst outbreak of COVID since the start of the pandemic.
1:22.0	The country reported more than 3500 new cases on Monday alone. That's actually a very high number for China.
1:28.0	China is from the very beginning has had the zero COVID approach.
1:32.0	You know, they just put in draconian measures every time. There was even the whiff of a surge.
1:37.0	Millions of people are under lockdown again in China after the country saw new cases across several big cities.
1:43.0	And they've locked down entire communities, entire cities.
1:47.0	Some of those include the capital Beijing, Shanjiang and Shanghai.
1:52.0	That thought they were completely done. They had it all under control.
1:55.0	The industrial city of Shanjiang has fully closed down public transport, driven by a flare of cases among factory workers.
2:02.0	And yet they're seeing massive surges right now.
2:05.0	China has recorded its first two COVID related deaths since January of last year.
	...

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