Despite President Donald Trump’s call to put the economy back to work by Easter, one Johns Hopkins physician says there may have to be “variability” in when states and cities restart their economies. 

“The best time to start opening up businesses is when we see that the numbers in an area start to stabilize,” said Dr. Juan Dumois, an infectious diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. “What really may be a practical thing to consider is different recommendations in different areas of the country, depending upon the disease activity in those areas.” 

That could mean variability at the state level or local level, as the virus peaks at different times in its steady spread across the country.  

In what has become the conventional wisdom of the medical community, Dumois reiterated that a combination of social distancing and testing is still the best option for halting the disease.

“The virus is spreading. It will continue to spread, but if we can slow it, we can try to manage the cases that come into the hospitals so that the hospitals are not overloaded,” he said. 

Absent these measures, the doctor said hospitals will inevitably become overwhelmed. 

“Eventually, some patients won’t be able to get the care they need,” he added.  

But when or if this will happen in a given area is hard to determine as official projections change. 

“We’re seeing changes by the week, and even by the day,” Dumois said.

Share:
More In Politics
Meta to Block Ad-Targeting Based on Race, Religion
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, turned heads on Tuesday when it announced it will block some ad-targeting, specifically those of a political and religious nature. This is one of the most direct moves the company has made in order to minimize ad-targeting by advertisers on its platforms. Hastie Afkhami, Head of Digital at S-3 Group, joins Cheddar News to discuss the impact of this move.
U.N. Releases Draft Agreement for COP26
The COP26 summit in Scotland is in its final days, and the U.N. has just released a draft of an agreement for more than 200 world leaders to sign on Friday. The draft urges nations to set more aggressive goals in cutting emissions, while also calling for coal to be phased out. Chloe Demrovsky, President and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, joins Cheddar News to discuss this agreement.
Stocks Close Lower Due to New Inflation Fears
Stocks fell into the red on Wednesday after new data heightened fears over inflation. Vince Lorusso, Co-Founder and portfolio manager at Changebridge Capital, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell where he says recent history suggests investors to buy the dips.
Load More