Is the Coronavirus Really Getting Weaker?
There are several explanations for why the virus doesn't seem as bad in some places.
The most prudent path is to assume the virus that causes Covid-19 is as deadly and dangerous as ever.
Photographer: Radoslav Zilinsky/Moment RF via Getty Images
It's natural to want some good news in troubling times. There are potential dangers in reading too much into things.
In Italy, there's an ongoing public debate about a possible encouraging shift toward a weaker version of Covid-19. A leading virologist and doctor have endorsed this idea as the number of deaths, cases, severely ill patients and viral load they’ve seen on swabs are declining or holding steady even as the country reopens. The virologist, Arnaldo Caruso, suggested that the virus could vanish even without a vaccine and that distancing and masks may no longer be needed soon.