https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/misplaced-analogies-covid-19-is-more-like-a-wildfire-than-a-wave/

New coronavirus infections have soared to their highest levels in five states, as some leaders pause plans to reopen businesses further. The record highs—in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and South Carolina—mark a concerning rise in cases that is now stretching into its third consecutive week. More than 2.5 million people in the United States have been infected with coronavirus and at least 125,000 have died, greater than any other country.

Early in the pandemic, Sarah Cobey, an epidemiologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, pivoted her own research on influenza to model the dynamics of COVID-19. Here she answers some questions from Scientific American contributor Marla Broadfoot about why we are seeing an uptick in cases—and whether they herald a dreaded second wave of the disease.