COVID-19 could resemble a pandemic flu that comes back every year, scientists found in a Harvard study published Tuesday that concluded a single lockdown will not be enough to halt the novel coronavirus. Instead, we may have to go through multiple rounds of social distancing, well into 2022, in order to ensure there is minimal strain on hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Multiple efforts at social distancing will have to be put in place otherwise, Kissler said, because current healthcare capacity would not be able to support the surge of infections. On the other hand, the authors warn, if social distancing is pushed too far, where there are too many lockdowns, it could spell disaster. With one of the models, “the social distancing was so effective that virtually no population immunity is built,” the paper said, hence the need for a middle ground.

Source: National Post April 15, 2020 15:04 UTC