4) Test, trace, masks. One way to control the virus while loosening the lockdowns might be to aggressively test people to see who has it, quarantine cases, and figure out whom these folks have been in contact with so they can be tested ASAP too. Mask-wearing, meanwhile, can dramatically reduce the rate at which the virus spreads among people who come into contact with each other in public places. This approach has worked well in other countries, but right now the problem is that we have too few masks, too little testing capacity, and too many cases for it to be possible to track down all their contacts. (Not to mention that the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak is hyper-dense New York City.) Some experts are dubious we can solve all these problems, but we have to try. On the good-news front, a fast new test just came out and its maker is pumping out machines as fast as it can, and there’s evidence that simple homemade masks are surprisingly effective.
Five ways out of the COVID crisis
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