Inside Story

What level of risk is posed by a new wave of COVID-19 cases?

The World Health Organization records 1.4 million new infections during July and August – up 80 percent from the previous month.

COVID-19 cases are rising again, along with variants of the coronavirus.

The extent is less than before, but the latest figures show the incidence of the disease is increasing.

There are many variants, too, as the virus mutates and develops as it spreads.

That presents challenges to scientists working on developing vaccines that can cope with the new threats.

The World Health Organization says it wants its experts to return to China to find out more about the origins of the disease.

So how much of a danger is this wave?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:
Dr Paul Hunter – professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia

Dr Patrick Tang – microbiology division chief at Sidra Medicine, Doha

Dr Gabriel Scally – professor of public health at University of Bristol