Coronavirus may not be mutating, but experts say there is still potential for danger
June 4, 2020 / By Madeline Holcombe, CNN
(CNN) – Covid-19 is not mutating, health experts say, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.
So far, evidence does not show that the coronavirus is changing to become more severe or more transmittable, but complacency by people and local governments could increase its spread, World Health Organization infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said Wednesday at a news briefing.
Almost 20,000 new US cases were reported Wednesday, data from Johns Hopkins University shows, and officials warn that packed protests over the death in police custody of George Floyd could exacerbate the pandemic that has killed at least 107,175 people nationwide.
“I remain concerned about the public health consequences both of individual and institutional racism (and) people out protesting in a way that is harmful to themselves and to their communities,” US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said in an interview published Monday. “Based on the way the disease spreads, there is every reason to expect that we will see new clusters and potentially new outbreaks moving forward.”
