Colds Nearly Vanished Under Lockdown. Now They’re Coming Back

Data from Australia and across Europe indicate a surge of at least one other ailment that has been lying mostly dormant: the common cold. Colds are caused by many viruses, but the culprits, at this point, are largely rhinoviruses. That isn’t especially surprising. Rhinoviruses are ubiquitous bugs that normally spread this time of year as schools and day care centers reopen, which in many places they have. “This is exactly what we’d expect during a normal back-to-school season,” says Catherine Moore, a virologist at Public Health Wales.