It appears that the worst wave seen yet in the United States of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is finally waning.

Health officials, however, are still warning the general public to be vigilant, as another surge could be quickly driven by new and more contagious variants that have surfaced worldwide.

The surge in cases and deaths over the past couple of months, largely due to the Christmas holiday gatherings and travel, has been on a downward trend for weeks.

Sunday and Monday marked the first two days so far this year that the number of new infections dropped below one hundred thousand. Last week, the United States reported a 25 percent drop in new cases to roughly eight hundred thirty thousand, representing the biggest plunge since the pandemic began about a year ago.

Moreover, the average number of patients in hospitals fell by 15 percent—another record percentage drop—and deaths shrunk 2.5 percent. Cumulatively, nearly four hundred seventy thousand people have died from the virus in the United States, or one in about every seven hundred residents, by far the highest total in the world.

The future outlook of the pandemic, however, has also become more complicated in recent weeks. The mutant coronavirus strains that were first identified in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa have become a threat to the country and could reverse the recent drop in cases and hospitalizations, according to the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The continued proliferation of variants remains a great concern and is a threat that could reverse the recent positive trends that we are seeing,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters during a recent White House news briefing on coronavirus. 

“Please continue to wear a mask and stay six feet apart from people you don’t live with. Avoid travel, crowds and poorly ventilated spaces and get vaccinated when it’s available to you.”  

The CDC has already identified nearly seven hundred cases of the UK’s B.1.1.7 variant, in addition to six cases of the South African strain and three cases of the Brazilian one.  

“We are anticipating we might find more” cases in the coming weeks, Walensky added.  

Last month, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed toward early scientific data suggesting that the country’s variant may be more lethal.  

That data still “needs to be confirmed,” White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said.  

“But thus far, no evidence that it is less virulent. Sometimes when viruses mutate to spread more efficiently, they become less virulent, but we do not have any data to indicate that is in fact happening.” 

As for the South African variant, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax have confirmed that their respective vaccines may not work as well on that particular strain.  

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.  

Image: Reuters