Omicron’s arrival dashed much-anticipated hopes that a “normal” summer was on the horizon. Now as the dust settles on the latest COVID curve ball, what can we expect from the coming months?
, with a number of superspreader events early on lighting a spark that couldn't be extinguished. But Professor Bennett says the virus has now spread outside these communities, which means the decline will be far less quick.
"Hopefully we are [over the peak], but we are relying on a lot of people submitting their RATs and a lot of people who aren't even getting tested or don't have access to tests," she says. "I would be very cautious with declaring victory and saying we're going to be back to normal in a few weeks or months."
But this doesn't necessarily mean there are actually more cases — it could be asymptomatic cases that previously would have gone unrecorded are caught. Conversely, if the increased screening does not lead to a large spike in cases, she says that will be a "good sign" that there are not many cases going unrecorded.
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