Since the COVID-19 appeared in Europe and the USA, after its explosion in the Chinese city of Wuhan, scholars launched the theory of the second wave, which could reach the so-called old continent in the fall and winter months.

In Europe, the greatest damage was done in late winter and early spring, at which time Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, to name just four countries, reported hundreds of thousands of infections and tens of thousands of deaths, which forced their governments to declare quarantine and detain the population, with considerable damage to their respective economies.

In Europe, the biggest damage did in late winter and early spring, when Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, to name just four countries, reported hundreds of thousands of contagions and tens of thousands dead, forcing their governments to declare quarantine and detain the population, with considerable damage to their respective economies.

It was also winter in New York, by far the state and city hardest affected by the United States by the coronavirus, with figures that left small what happened in Wuhan, even in the entire European cities.

Southward shift

The arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere and the sanitary measures taken by almost all the governments considerably reduced infections in that part of the planet, but the south, then in winter, triggered its scores. And Brazil, which was already going through a bad time, multiplied its numbers of patients, as did South Africa and India, countries, moreover, with very high populations.

In Brazil, the infected exceeded two million, at least those officially registered, because many consider that the figures can be up to 10 times higher, while the death toll is almost 80 thousand.

Other countries in South America also face delicate situations, coinciding with the winter season, such as Peru, Chile, Bolivia, despite the fact that some assure that the figures being handled are far from being exact, due to the number of asymptomatic people and the difficulties for doing the tests in those areas far from the large population centres.

The same is the case in South Asia and Africa, but there are exceptions, such as the United States, where the Government has renounced to establish controls and despite the summer, the virus is rampant.

Miami the exception

What the whole rule has its exception is fulfilled in the hot city of Miami and throughout the state of Florida, epicentre at this time of uncontrolled growth of COVID-19, with figures that exceeded 12 thousand infections in the last 24 hours at the state level, despite living a torrid summer.

At this time of year in populous Miami, it is very hot and if its inhabitants feared in other years it was the fearsome Atlantic hurricanes, which often end up hitting the city or passing very close, sowing destruction in the city.

Not this time. Now it was the coronavirus, especially because its inhabitants, a heterogeneous mix of North Americans, Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and from any country in the world they can think of, preferred the possibility of enjoying the beaches, bars, nightclubs, then staying at home and take care of their health and their relatives. All this in the midst of a strong government position to keep the jobs open, even with pressure for classes to resume from August with the students in the classrooms.

Still the total number of infected in the city (84,238) is far from New York (221,419) or Los Angeles (155,917) but the numbers are chilling, while the health system is experiencing intense moments due to the lack of capacities to care for the sick, some of which are returned to their homes because their situation is not complicated.

Another wave, but milder

The renowned Italian immunologist Mario Clerici, professor at the University of Milan, assured that there will be a second wave of COVID-19 but that it would be much milder because the coronavirus will weaken substantially under the impact of ultraviolet radiation in the summer months.

Speaking to media representatives, Clerici, who led a joint study by immunologists from the University of Milan and experts from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), on the impact of ultraviolet radiation on the coronavirus, said that “if The second wave comes, it will be much milder than the one we had to face last spring, ” although he also clarified that what will happen cannot be predicted.

Italian biologists placed the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, in a few drops of water, mimicking the effect that arises from sneezing or coughing an infected person, and subjected it to ultraviolet radiation of varying intensity, and concluded that, even in small doses, they are able to completely inactivate the virus in a few seconds.

Scientists also detected a link between the level of solar radiation and the epidemiological situation in various regions of the world: the higher the ultraviolet radiation, the fewer cases of COVID-19 are recorded there.

Clerici also clarified that “the virus is the same, has not undergone substantial changes and is still quite aggressive. But after a lasting impact of the solar ration in the summer months it will be seriously weakened. If we previously observed the presence of thousands of particles active virals, capable of causing the disease, after the lasting impact of the ultraviolet ration, their number will decrease tens of times,” he stressed.

Finally, as another important reason why the second wave of COVID could be milder, he referred to the preparation of the health system to fight this infection: “doctors and potential patients know much more today about this virus and they understand better what to do in an extreme situation. The combination of these two factors allows us to expect the second wave to be milder.”