The US is at a “critical moment” in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic as more than 40 states will have reopened in varying degrees by the weekend, an expert of Maryland-based Johns Hopkins University warned.
“It’s clear to me we are at a critical moment of this fight,” epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers addressed House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, as cited by Los Angeles Times.
“US MUST NOT RUSH REOPENING OF THE STATES”
“We risk complacency in accepting the preventable deaths of 2,000 Americans each day, we risk complacency in accepting that our healthcare workers do not have what they need to do their jobs safely, and we risk complacency in recognizing that without continued vigilance we will again create the conditions that led to us being the worst-affected country in the world,” Rivers said.
Rivers became the latest expert that advising not to rush reopening of the states as favored by President Donald Trump.
Youyang Gu told CNN that if states rush to reopen and virus spread, it will take time for them to realize it and “will be too late to reverse the decision.” “It will be at least two to three weeks before we see an increase in the number of infections because it takes time for individuals to infect others and for them to display symptoms,” he said.
The expert added that there is also a “lag time” between symptoms worsening, getting tested and receiving the results, which is longer for deaths “around three weeks”.