Two-thirds said they did not expect their kids to be in school by then and most do not expect to travel any time soon, with three-fourths saying it is unlikely they will travel for a winter holiday this year.

The survey findings suggest that “a sense of acceptance that ‘this will be a marathon, not a sprint’ is taking hold across America,” said The Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema. “And most telling, perhaps, is that 80 per cent of Americans anticipate a second wave of Covid-19 even as we battle this first one.”

With authorities reporting on Tuesday the highest daily nationwide death toll in weeks of nearly 1,000, President Donald Trump rebooted his coronavirus briefings with a warning about a surge in US cases even as he sought to reassure Americans that his administration has the crisis under control.

He took a notably more reserved tone than in earlier briefings, encouraging Americans to wear masks and avoid risky behaviour.

“It will probably, unfortunately get worse before it gets better,” Trump told reporters during his first formal pandemic briefing for nearly three months.

“Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact,” he said. “I’m getting used to the mask,” he added, pulling one out after months of suggesting that mask-wearing was a political statement against him.

Meanwhile, the US accused two Chinese hackers of working for Beijing to steal or try to steal terabytes of data, including coronavirus research, from Western companies in 11 nations – the second time in a week a foreign nation has been singled out for vaccine-related hacking.

The Justice Department released an indictment on Tuesday against the individuals, whom it identified as Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi. It said that the two men were assisted by China’s Ministry of State Security and that defence contractors and weapons systems were hacked along with medical research.

Trump willing to work with China on Covid-19 vaccine for US

Other nations, which had eased crippling lockdowns after the virus had appeared to fade, are struggling to combat second waves.

Australia on Wednesday reported more than 500 infections in a day, posting a record high nearly four months after cases appeared to have peaked.

In Melbourne, Australia’s second-biggest city where most of the new infections have occurred, wearing face masks will be mandatory from Thursday.

Second wave fears were also growing in Japan’s capital, with hundreds of new cases reported each day over the past week, promoting authorities to urge people to stay home during an upcoming national holiday.

“The infections are spreading not only among young people but also among middle-aged and older people,” Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said, after new clusters were found in city restaurants and theatres.

France also said transmissions were increasing again over the summer holiday season, after the country suffered one of Europe’s worst outbreaks during the spring.

Countries with fragile health systems have yet to enjoy even a brief reprieve from the virus, with Mexico on Tuesday passing 40,000 deaths – the pandemic’s fourth-highest national toll.

Fresh data from a study in India also suggested that the virus was spreading much further than charted, and that official figures were far lower than reality.

The study said nearly one quarter of the population in New Delhi, India’s capital, had contracted the virus. This would equate to roughly five million infections in New Delhi versus the official data showing 125,000 confirmed cases.

Moderna vaccine safe, induces immune response, early results show

In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro had another positive result for the novel coronavirus in the third test he has taken since falling ill on July 7, a secretariat of the Communications Ministry said on Wednesday.

“The test carried out on the president yesterday, on the 21st, showed a positive result,” a statement said. “President Bolsonaro is still in good condition, accompanied by the presidency’s medical team,” it added.

Hopes for an end to the crisis, which has left tens of millions unemployed around the world and crippled global commerce, have hinged on the production of a vaccine.

03:07

India reports 1 million coronavirus cases as lockdowns remain in place across the nation

India reports 1 million coronavirus cases as lockdowns remain in place across the nation

One leading candidate is being developed in part by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, with promising results from clinical trials published on Monday.

But the firm’s chief said a global roll-out was not likely to begin until the end of the year.

Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech will get US$1.95 billion from the US government to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate, the companies said on Wednesday.

The agreement allows the US government to acquire an additional 500 million doses, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defence said.

Millions around the world have recovered from the disease in lieu of a vaccine, but those who survive severe cases face a long, hard road to regain their health.

In Brazil, 63-year-old Elenice da Silva was recovering from a nearly three-month battle with the virus that left her temporarily unable to speak.

Patients like da Silva have been left suffering from atrophied muscles or chronic problems affecting their lungs and other vital organs.

“Intensive care was awful. But now I’m feeling marvellous,” she said during her recovery. “I’m going to bake a giant cake for everyone.”

Additional reporting by Reuters, Associated Press and Bloomberg