Coronavirus Latest: Dr. Rob Danoff Answers Questions About Possibility Of Second Wave, Recovery Time For COVID-19 Patients
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise, many of our CBS3 viewers have been asking questions about the outbreak and what it means. Dr. Rob Danoff, who is overseeing a testing site in Bucks County, joined Eyewitness News to answer some of them.
When asked if the coronavirus could become a yearly virus, Dr. Danoff says there is a possibility.
"Right now, we've seen this in the southern hemisphere, where it is starting to be cold, so we are not quite sure. The flu has predictability -- we know when it starts and when it ends. COVID-19, we're not sure, we have to wait until the next season to find out."
CORONAVIRUS LATEST: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Dr. Danoff says the recovery time from the coronavirus can vary.
"For someone who becomes ill with COVID-19, it depends. Some people hardly have any symptoms or none at all, some have mild symptoms, usually two weeks. If it's a little bit more symptoms, two to four weeks and of course for those who are critically ill, that determined upon them. But for most people, they do well, recovering usually two to three weeks in that period."
Dr. Danoff added that the coronavirus lasts a little longer than the flu.
"Everyone's different, so some people don't have any or very mild symptoms and it might be less than two weeks, so it's depending on the individual."
So, is there a possibility there could be multiple waves of infection?
"It looks right now that we're very close to the peak, we're going to start having hopefully, decreased cases. But it's called the second wave and what we're concerned about is once everyone stops social distancing, in a few months when everyone starts going out again, we have to monitor to make sure it doesn't come back in a second wave."
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