Michigan Medicine infectious disease specialist Dr. Sandro Cinti says we have "undoubtedly flattened" the coronavirus curve, as they see more patients being discharged than admitted for the disease. He spoke to WEMU's Lisa Barry about his concerns though that reopening the economy too soon might cause another increase in the number of cases.
Dr. Sandro Cintisays health care workers are “fatigued but are still working hard” as they start to see fewer cases of COVID-19 coming in to the hospital, and they are starting to discharge more patients, thanks to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay at home order. He says we have now “undoubtedly flattened the curve,” referring to the rate of infection in the state.
"The doubling times have decreased, and we are starting to discharge more patients than we’re admitting which is all proof of that."
Dr, Cinti says he now recognizes the benefits of wearing a mask in public and says we need to get away from the stigma of doing so. And while agreeing with the need to reopen the economy, he says he believes it should be done in stages, or “We could peak right back up to where we were before in the number of COVID-19 cases if we’re not careful in the way we re-open."
He says avoiding large crowds will be important for a while, as that is where transmission rates of the virus are highest. He added there are currently"phase one" trials of a possible vaccine already out with "phase two" trials being developed now as well. But he says it will likely be at least a year before one is available.
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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
