'Second Covid wave will be much worse': US disease control chief raises alarm; slams Trump

The Director of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Robert Redfield on Tuesday said that the second wave of COVID-19 in the United States will be much worse as it is likely to coincide with the start of the flu season in the country.

Speaking to the media, CDC Director Robert Redfield said, "There is a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through." He also said that the US will have "the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time."

Speaking about widespread protests against stay-at-home orders, Redfield said: "It's not helpful." The President himself has tweeted encouragements of such protests, urging followers to "liberate Minnesota!" and "liberate Michigan!"

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Trump on COVID-19 in US

Meanwhile, Trump in his daily briefing on Tuesday also said that 20 states are preparing to reopen their economies soon amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Since we announced our guidelines on opening up America. 20 states representing 40 per cent of the US population have announced that they are making plans and preparations to safely restart their economies in the very near future," Trump said on Tuesday.

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Further speaking about New York, the epicenter of the COVID-19 positive case in the United States, he assured that the Federal government has spared no expense or resource to take care of the New Yorkers.

COVID-19 has infected more than 2.5 million people around the world. As of Wednesday, America has reported 8,24,698 cases, while 75,050 have recovered, 45,297 people have died. New York, the epicentre of the deadly COVID-19 in the US, has 2,42,000 cases and over 17,600 fatalities so far. 

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