Ross: If the economy does reopen in May, there’ll be a catch

The economy is going to re-open, possibly as early as May. But when it does – there will be a catch.

“Going back to normal has to be in phases,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad. “We cannot relax all our measures at the same time.”

Dr. Ali Mokdad is one of the University of Washington researchers who came up with the models predicting the spread of COVID-19.

Now he’s onto a new project: Creating a model detailing when we can reopen the economy.

“I would expect to see more Americans wearing face masks from now on like when you travel in China you see them,” he described. “I don’t think shaking hands will be very common from now on.”

But most important – you will probably have to be tested before returning to work.

“We need to have a way to test people and say this guy is negative — he or she — and he and she can proceed to their jobs and keep monitoring,” he recommended.

But that’s the easy part. The hard part will be isolating those who test positive, and then quarantining anyone who came in contact with them whether they have symptoms or not.

For that to work, we will have to trust the politicians who will be telling us to do this. So if you’re a politician: Please, do whatever it takes to seem trustworthy.

Because unless people are willing to do as they’re told in May, it’ll be February all over again.

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