US, and global, public health professionals are pushing so hard to get the novel coronavirus outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic under control, because there’s a chance that the deadly disease could become a seasonal threat, according to Dr Anthony Fauci, the top American immunologist who is a member of the federal coronavirus task force.

There have been more than 1.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide. The virus has killed more than 69,000.

In the United States, there have been 338,999 cases reported, including 9,687 deaths, according to the most recent figures.

Public health professionals have been advocating extreme lockdowns and social distancing to try to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic, which many US mayors and governors have been enacting.

This has kept many Americans out of restaurants, bars, theaters and many types of retail establishments–wherever crowds could gather.

“Unless we get this globally under control, there’s a very good chance that it will assume a seasonal nature in the sense that even if we, and I hope it’s not just if–but when–we get it down to the point where it really is at a very low level, we need to be prepared that since it unlikely will be completely eradicated from the planet, that as we get into next season, we may see the beginning of a resurgence,” Dr Fauci said. “And that’s the reason why we’re pushing so hard and getting our preparedness much better than it was, but importantly, pushing on a vaccine and doing clinical trials for therapeutic interventions so that hopefully if in fact we do see that resurgence, we will have interventions that we did not have in the beginning of the situation that we’re in right now.”

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