Politicians, Community Leaders and Business Leaders: What Should You Do and When? By Tomas Pueyo 

THIS IS A MUST READ ANALYSIS OF THE SPREAD OF THE CORONOVIRUS.

I have posted a few of Pueyo’s conclusions, but read his entire piece. Link is below.

My gratitude to Chris Hayes of MSNBC who put this article on his twitter feed.

“The current scientific consensus is that this virus can be spread within 2 meters (6 feet) if somebody coughs. Otherwise, the droplets fall to the ground and don’t infect you.

The worst infection then becomes through surfaces: The virus survives for up to 9 days on different surfaces such as metal, ceramics and plastics. That means things like doorknobs, tables, or elevator buttons can be terrible infection vectors.

The only way to truly reduce that is with social distancing: Keeping people home as much as possible, for as long as possible until this recedes.

The US administration’s ban on European travel is good: It has probably bought us a few hours, maybe a day or two. But not more. It is not enough. It’s containment when what’s needed is mitigation.

Mitigation

Mitigation requires heavy social distancing. People need to stop hanging out to drop the transmission rate …

These measures [to effect social distancing] require closing companies, shops, mass transit, schools, enforcing lockdowns… The worse your situation, the worse the social distancing. The earlier you impose heavy measures, the less time you need to keep them, the easier it is to identify brewing cases, and the fewer people get infected.

So the question becomes: What are the tradeoffs we could be making to lower the R[ate of transmission]? This is the menu that Italy has put in front of all of us:

  • Nobody can enter or exit lockdown areas, unless there are proven family or work reasons.
  • Movement inside the areas is to be avoided, unless they are justified for urgent personal or work reasons and can’t be postponed.
  • People with symptoms (respiratory infection and fever) are “highly recommended” to remain home.
  • Standard time off for healthcare workers is suspended
  • Closure of all educational establishments (schools, universities…), gyms, museums, ski stations, cultural and social centers, swimming pools, and theaters.
  • Bars and restaurants have limited opening times from 6am to 6pm, with at least one meter (~3 feet) distance between people.
  • All pubs and clubs must close.
  • All commercial activity must keep a distance of one meter between customers. Those that can’t make it happen must close. Temples can remain open as long as they can guarantee this distance.
  • Family and friends hospital visits are limited
  • Work meetings must be postponed. Work from home must be encouraged.
  • All sports events and competitions, public or private, are canceled. Important events can be held under closed doors.

See entire article and forward to everyone you know and love – https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca