Big Al 1992 said:
Thanks again Doc!
Glad to see the economy might start slowly coming back in phases, but as it opens up, what's to stop a "super spreader" that we saw last month in NYC and other places start another outbreak and how do we combat that?
Ideally people continue to use social distancing and start using masks. That should limit the spread both in the event of a super spreader and from those that were infected by the event. For example, if someone infected goes to church with hundreds of their people, the number of people who will be infected is diminished if they are spread out more and wearing masks. If you can reduce that event from infecting 50 people to infecting 5 people, the outbreak is much less of a problem.
Additionally, test and trace. Even if the initial spreader doesn't show signs in a couple days (stays asymptomatic), then one of the secondary infections will likely show symptoms. You want to trace back to when they became infectious and isolate and test anyone they potentially spread to, but also figure out where they got it. Once you identify the event as a super spread event, then you will need to test everyone at the event.
You can have a big jump in infections, but if you can significantly reduce the spread from there, you can keep the outbreak from growing exponentially. Keep in mind, the goal is to flatten the curve, not eliminate the spread. Also, Abbott, when talking about opening up, suggested we might see some areas have to return to more restrictive for a while if there is a local flair up.
We shouldn't fear a flair up, but we need to be prepared to contain it.