Five years ago, the world was stopped dead in its tracks by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Everything was under lockdown. Businesses. People. Society. It wasn’t all bad, however, it allowed people to take a break and relax more often without worrying about jobs, school, etc.

“Life during covid was pretty fun for me,” junior Alex Long said. “I stayed home and played games all the time. Essentially it was just a long summer break.”

Since then, though, the world has become a drastically different place.Technology has become more dominant, small businesses shut down, political groups arose, and investigation has revealed COVID was, in fact, created in a lab. Now a new virus has made news worldwide in its outbreak, but it isn’t really new, is it?

Human Metapneumovirus is much like the common cold and flu, causing respiratory problems, fever, body aches, bluish-colored skin due to the lack of oxygen, and nasal congestion occurring primarily in infants and seniors. HMPV is speculated to have evolved after a zoonotic virus infected an unknown avian reservoir host (with a common ancestor being the avian metapneumovirus subtype C). 

HMPV broke headlines on December 18, 2024 in China (approximately 75,000 specimens have been identified since), bringing into question whether or not another lockdown was imminent, and if the World should be concerned five years after the last pandemic.

“I find it abnormal as it’s spiked dramatically compared to previous years,” Long said. “I believe the virus could be mutating like COVID.” 

Even so, HMPV isn’t exactly new whatsoever. Reports from China indicate that the persons infected with HMPV are within the expected range this year as any other year. This is in large part due to the increased spread rate of respiratory diseases during the colder months of the year, mainly the month of January.

To answer the question on whether or not another pandemic is right around the corner: people can rest easy knowing a lockdown is not going to take place anytime soon.