More than 150 medical professionals and public health experts are asking America’s political leaders to immediately shut the country down once again, and this time to do it right, to stop the spread of Covid-19, which has now infected more four million. people in the United States and took at least 144,000 lives.
“In March, people went home and stayed there for weeks, to keep themselves and their neighbors safe. He didn’t use the time to prepare us to beat the virus. And then it started reopening anyway, and too fast”.
“In March, people went home and stayed there for weeks, to keep themselves and their neighbors safe. He didn’t use the time to prepare us to beat the virus. And then it started reopening anyway, and too fast”. Medical professionals and advocacy group US PIRG wrote in an open letter published this week.
The signers of the letter include Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, Angela Rasmussen, PhD; William Hanage, PhD; Seth Trueger, MD, MPH; Megan Ranney, MD, MPH; and Saskia Popescu, PhD, MPH.
“Non-core companies must be closed,” the experts wrote. “Restaurant service should be limited to takeaways. People should stay home, go out alone to get food and medicine or to exercise and get fresh air. Masks should be mandatory in all situations, indoors and outdoors. where we interact with others. If you don’t take these steps, the consequences will be measured in widespread suffering and death. “
The letter comes as new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to rise across the country, forcing states that reopened prematurely and randomly to close again.
“Our decision makers must press the reset button,” said Matt Wellington, director of public health campaigns for the US PIRG, in a statement. “Continuing on the path we are on now will result in widespread suffering and death. And for what? Health experts have set criteria on how to safely reopen. It is time to listen to them.”
Despite the dizzying cases, Trump, unsupportingly insisting that the virus will simply go away on its own, proclaimed during a press conference on Thursday that “we have had a tremendous week uniting the country in our fight” against Covid-19.
“We are doing very well across the country,” Trump said shortly after the United States topped four million confirmed Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations reached a record high.
In their open letter, medical professionals presented a much less optimistic and more evidence-based picture of the United States’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic compared to that of other advanced nations.
“More than 117,000 Americans had died of Covid-19 in mid-June,” the experts wrote. “If our response had been as effective as that of Germany, estimates show that we would have had only 36,000 deaths from Covid-19 in that period in the United States. If our response had been as effective as that of South Korea, Australia or Singapore, fewer than 2,000 Americans would have died. We could have prevented 99% of those Covid-19 deaths. But we didn’t. “
The letter urged political leaders in the United States to abandon their failed approach to contain the virus and “take bold steps to save lives, even when it means shutting down again.”
“Close it, start again, do it right,” demanded medical professionals. “Free up the resources necessary to contain the virus: massively intensifying testing, building the necessary infrastructure for effective contact tracing, and providing a safety net for those in need. Many of our government’s actions have so far failed to achieve the moment demands it. Mr. Trump, federal administration, honorable governors: we remind you that history has its eyes on you. “
Dear decision makers,
Press the reset button.
Of all the nations in the world, we have had the highest number of deaths from Covid-19. At the same time, we are in the midst of the “reopening of our economy”, exposing more and more people to the coronavirus and watching the number of cases, and deaths, skyrocket.
In March, people went home and stayed there for weeks, to keep themselves and their neighbors safe. You didn’t use the time to prepare us to beat the virus. And then you started to reopen anyway, and too fast.
Right now we are on the path to losing more than 200,000 American lives by November 1. However, in many states, people can drink in bars, cut their hair, eat inside a restaurant, get a tattoo, get a massage, and do a myriad of other normal, enjoyable but nonessential activities.
Clarify our priorities.
More than 117,000 Americans had died of Covid-19 in mid-June. If our response had been as effective as Germany’s, estimates show that we would have had only 36,000 Covid-19 deaths in that period in the United States. If our response had been as effective as that of South Korea, Australia, or Singapore, fewer than 2,000 Americans would have died. We could have prevented 99% of those Covid-19 deaths. But we did not.
The best thing for the nation is not to reopen as quickly as possible, it is to save as many lives as possible. And reopening before removing the virus is not going to help the economy. Economists have recorded that the only way to “restore the economy is to address the pandemic itself,” noting that until we find a way to push for testing and develop and distribute a vaccine, open or not, people will not be in the state. of encouragement to participate.
Listen to the experts.
Public health professionals have made it clear that, even after containing the virus by staying home, to reopen American cities and towns safely, we will need:
– Sufficient daily testing capacity to assess all people with flu-like symptoms, plus anyone with whom they have been in contact during the past 2 weeks (at least 10 additional tests per symptomatic person). We currently only have 35% of the testing capacity we need to reach that threshold. The more people get sick, the more tests are required.
– A contact tracker workforce large enough to track all current cases. That’s 210,000 more contact trackers than we had in April, but the number continues to rise as infections increase. Most states are a long way from the number of contact trackers they need.
Additionally, we need more personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep essential workers safe, such as healthcare professionals, emergency personnel, and supermarket employees.
Close it now and start again.
Non-core companies must be closed. Restaurant service should be limited to take-out food. People should stay home, go out alone to get food and medicine or to exercise and get fresh air. Masks should be mandatory in all situations, indoors and outdoors, where we interact with others.
We need that protocol in place until case numbers fall back to a level where we have the ability to effectively test and track. So, and only then, can we try a little more openness, one small step at a time.
You must prohibit non-essential interstate travel. When people travel freely between states, good numbers in one state can go bad quickly.
If you don’t take these steps, the consequences will be measured in widespread suffering and death.
We need you to lead.
Tell Americans the truth about the virus, even when it’s difficult. Take bold steps to save lives, even when it means closing again.
Free up the resources necessary to contain the virus: massively speeding up testing, building the infrastructure necessary for effective contact tracking, and providing a safety net for those who need it.
Many of our government’s actions so far have fallen short of what the moment demands. Mr. Trump, Federal Administration, Honorable Governors: We remind you that history has its eyes on you.
.
