Threats of New Lockdowns in the U.S.

Infectious disease experts in the United States are warning that the coronavirus will be making life difficult for the foreseeable future, reports the New York Times , with some leaders in New York, Texas, and elsewhere threatening renewed lockdowns in an effort to get people to take the persistent threat of the virus seriously. Public health officials have estimated that without a vaccine, approximately 70 percent of the population will need to be infected and develop herd immunity in order to stop the virus' spread. The current number of confirmed cases in the U.S. is estimated at about two million, less than 1 percent of the country's population. In Houston, officials warn that a lockdown might be re-imposed as cases continue to tick upward. The region is now at what officials call "Code Orange," meaning there is an uncontrolled level of coronavirus spread. Jay Butler of the Centers for Disease Control recently said that "if cases begin to go up again, particularly if they go up dramatically, it's important to recognize that more mitigation efforts such as what were implemented back in March may be needed again."