ScienceToday

COVID-19 changed the way we live our lives, our plans, our summer, basically, we all had have to adapt to this new lifestyle. In the context of a global pandemic, you’re not allowed to go to dinner at your favorite restaurant, you’re not allowed to have a drink with your friends at your favorite bar, you can’t go to the gym to drop those quarantine pounds that you’ve gained and many more other things.

I know these are all minor inconveniences that we’ve had to get used to, however, COVID-19 has mostly affected schools and colleges. There’s still no clear evidence about how will things be as soon as schools will reopen and students across the U.S will begin their campus lives again or for the first time.

According to medical experts, the beginning of school/college will trigger a second wave of COVID, considering that a large number of students from all over the world pose a huge risk in spreading the virus. As The Verge reports, small towns with popular universities and colleges are the most at risk right now, because once they get populated again with students to off-campus housing, stores, restaurants, and other public places, a second wave will likely occur.

As experts and researchers have long predicted, there will be a second wave of COVID-19. So read on and find out everything you need to know about a potential COVID-19 second wave!

Experts are sure that the returning of students will cause a second wave. “What’s really worrisome right now is many college towns are already—even as they just start to repopulate—showing significant evidence of increased transmission,” explains David Rubin, director of The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) PolicyLab. “I’m worried about what I’m already seeing. What happens when they fully repopulate?”

As data from PolicyLab shows, there was already an increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the smaller counties where you can find popular colleges and universities. For instance, the number of coronavirus cases increased in South Bend, Indiana where is the University of Notre Dame and Ann Arbor, Michigan where the University of Michigan is located.
Even before the students return to universities, a survey conducted by The New York Times showed that there were more than 6,600 new coronavirus cases linked to college campuses.