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The United States can return to the confinement. Joe Biden’s advisor on the Covid epidemiological team, Michael Osterholm, says that a nationwide shutdown in the United States for four to six weeks could keep the pandemic under control, as has happened in New Zealand and Australia.
Closing the business and providing financial support to those who will no longer receive their wages for four to six weeks could help keep the pandemic under control and keep the economy afloat until a vaccine is approved and distributed, said Dr. Michael Osterholm.
Osterholm, who serves as director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said earlier this week that the country is heading for “Covid hell.” He said the number of cases is increasing as more and more people no longer wear masks and no longer follow the rules of social distance, manifesting so-called “pandemic fatigue.” The doctor added that cold weather causes people to spend more time indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.
A nationwide lockdown could reduce the number of new cases and hospitalizations while people wait for a vaccine, he told CNBC.
“We could pay for a support package to cover lost wages for employees, losses for small and medium businesses, cities and states. We could do all of this. If we did that, then we could be locked up for four to six weeks.“, he said.
Osterholm added that such a blockade would help the country control the virus, “as New Zealand and Australia have done.”
Regarding the evolution of the pandemic, Osterholm said America was heading into a dark period until the vaccine is available.
“What Americans need to understand is that we are about to enter the hell of COVID. It really happens. 10 weeks ago I predicted that on Labor Day we will see an astronomical increase in the number of cases. As you know, now we are talking about exactly this type of problem: 120-130,000 new cases a day, when a few weeks ago we were only talking about 23-25,000 cases. This number will continue to increase substantially, we have not even come close to the top, ”explained Osterholm.
Added that the darkest period of the pandemic is approaching for the United States and that hospitals in some cities can no longer cope with the number of infections.
Osterholm was appointed to Covid’s 12-member “advisory council” on Monday.
Publisher: Georgiana Marina
