Experts fear a spring surge if restrictions ease after deaths drop
By Joel Achenbach, Brittany Shammas, Fenit Nirappil and Jacqueline Dupree
The catastrophic winter wave of the coronavirus pandemic that was killing more than 20,000 people a week in the United States has subsided dramatically, giving a reprieve to stressed hospitals and in recent days driving new infection numbers below 100,000 for the first time since early November.
Still, infectious-disease experts caution that the virus remains a threat, with the pathogen circulating at high rates and killing more than 2,000 people a day. The fading dark days of this pandemic winter could yield to another wave of infections propelled by mutated variants of the virus that have taken root, with 997 infections attributed to them nationwide by Thursday night.
In this pivotal moment, government officials and the public again face decisions about whether to maintain pressure on the virus or try to return to something approaching normal life — easing the restrictions that can help limit the contagion. The scientific community is urging the public to stick with infection-slowing interventions — social distancing and mask-wearing — to try to stave off a spring surge.
