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VERIFY: Is this rise in coronavirus cases a second wave?

The rise in COVID 19 cases after so many states flattened the curve has people wondering if this is a second wave of the virus.

PORTLAND, Ore. — While some states, including Oregon and Washington, have seen an uptick in coronavirus cases, others, like Arizona, have seen much larger spikes.

The rise in COVID-19 cases after so many states flattened the curve has people wondering if this is a second wave of the virus.

We talked to Dr. Bukhosi Dube, a senior health advisor, on the state’s COVID-19 response team.

“No, at present we’re not considering this a second wave. It’s part of the initial wave going up,” said Dr. Dube.

Dr. Dube said a second wave implies the first wave nearly disappeared and reappeared. And that's not what we're seeing

He said the rise in cases is related to lockdown restrictions being eased and more people leaving their homes. Moving forward, there won't be waves but continuous ups and downs until we see a widely available vaccine.

“We’re going to continue seeing sporadic cases as one, we reopen, two, we improve our testing and make it more widespread three, an increase of contract tracing. We’ll continue to see this as time progresses,” said Dr. Dube.

Dr. Dube stresses it's important to follow the advice of public health officials, wear a mask, following social distancing guidelines and wash your hands. 

KGW can VERIFY: the rise in coronavirus cases is not a second wave.

Do you have something you want us to check out? Email our team at verify@kgw.com.

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