Coronavirus: Worldwide peak will come next winter, scientific model predicts

A model predicting transmission rates suggests the novel coronavirus could fall during the summer before rising again in winter.

Scientists are warning that even if coronavirus transmissions dip as we head into the spring and summer, such a reduction shouldn't be mistaken for an end to the outbreak.

Instead a reduction of cases during the summer should be seen as a precious opportunity to prepare for next winter, when a new model suggests the virus could infect 100 times more people.

In a paper currently undergoing peer-review, research scientists from universities in Basel and Stockholm have modelled the effects of seasonal variation on COVID-19 - the prevalent strain of coronavirus - transmission rates.