(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
What is a second wave?
Waves of infection describe the curve of an outbreak, reflecting a rise and fall in the number of cases. Epidemiologists say there is no formal definition of a second wave, but they know it when they see it.
U.S. COVID-19 cases spiked in March and April and then edged down in response to social-distancing policies aimed at slowing person-to-person transmission. But unlike several countries in Europe and Asia, the United States never experienced a dramatic drop in cases marking the clear end of a first wave. There is now a plateau of about 20,000 U.S. cases daily.
“You can’t talk about a second wave in the summer because we’re still in the first wave. We want to get that first wave down. Then we’ll see if we can keep it there,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, told the Washington Post last week.
(For a U.S.-focused coronavirus case tracker with a state-by-state and county map, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T in an external browser.)
Overseas human trials
China and Japan have become victims of their own success as slowing new COVID-19 infections have led to a shortage of patients to enrol in clinical trials.
With a dearth of domestic patients, Japan may have to rely more on overseas data and results to aid in regulatory approvals. That practice is common “if the quality of data is considered to be good enough”, according to health ministry official Yasuyuki Sahara.
China National Biotec Group said it has won approval to run a large-scale “Phase 3” clinical trial of its novel coronavirus vaccine candidate in the United Arab Emirates, without naming the vaccine to be tested.
(The Lifeline Pipeline: the drugs, tests and tactics that may conquer coronavirus, open https://reut.rs/3bhMUaE in an external browser)
Bolsonaro ordered to wear a mask
A Brazilian judge ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a mask in public after the right-wing populist attended political rallies without one in the middle of the world’s second-worst coronavirus outbreak, ruling that Bolsonaro was subject to a fine of 2,000 reais ($387) a day if he continued to disobey a local ordinance in the federal district meant to slow the pandemic.
Brazil has more confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths than anywhere outside the United States.
(For a global tracker of coronavirus cases, open https://tmsnrt.rs/2W82n73 in an external browser)
Risky behaviour
Men’s world number one tennis player Novak Djovokic has become the fourth player to contract the virus after playing in his Adria Tour charity tournament in the Balkan region. The players did not break any government protocols in Serbia or Croatia with both countries easing lockdown measures weeks before the event.
But it highlighted the risks of athletes from different countries being in close proximity to one another, which could be a concern for the men’s ATP and women’s WTA Tour when they resume the professional circuit in August after five months.
“If someone becomes infected, that’s a possibility, if they go out and they put themselves at a behaviour where their behaviour is risky, they’re really taking on a responsibility of saying what I’m doing is not that important to my fellow players,” said Brian Hainline, chief medical officer for the NCAA, the governing body of U.S. college sport.
(For Reuters’ suite of interactive graphics on the coronavirus, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GVwIyw)
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
