Expert: Reopening, protests will raise risk
A Johns Hopkins University expert is warning that Americans should not let down their guard as economies open up, stressing there’s a “long road ahead.”
Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School, said in a Thursday webinar that some states are still seeing hundreds or thousands more coronavirus cases every day.
“We are better than this,” said Inglesby. “I’m worried that people have kind of accepted where we are as a new normal and it is not normal.”
Inglesby said outdoor activities are still considered to be the safest, but he added “just because something is open doesn’t mean you should do it.”
He added that guidance from state and federal leaders is needed to keep communities on track with wearing masks and getting tested.
“Right now there should be no barriers to testing,” he said. “If the guidance isn’t clear from the top from political leaders and health leaders, people will be confused.”
Inglesby said there’s still “a long road ahead” with the pandemic until a vaccine is developed.
“It is possible that states will continue to have rising and falling case numbers until we have a vaccine,” Inglesby said.
Another factor that poses a risk for coronavirus spread are the large number of protests taking place in Massachusetts and across the country to demand justice for the death of George Floyd.
While Inglesby said he supports the protests and the message they carry, he said they will “increase the risk of transmission and we should be ready for that.”
To stay safe at protests and cut down on the risk of spread, Inglesby said protesters should wear masks, use hand sanitizer and use noisemakers instead of shouting.
He said law enforcement should not use tear gas as it increases coughing, which can lead to virus spread.
Inglesby said we won’t know the initial effects of protests on case counts until about a month after they began.
Social distancing works, Inglesby said, and noted that if case counts go up, it would be a very difficult decision for governors to impose another shutdown.
“At some point if the disease got serious in a particular state or area, the public would ultimately demand it,” he said.
But he said that going forward, a total shutdown might not be necessary and partial shutdowns could be imposed.