Epidemiologists are at the epicenter of infectious disease control. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these experts are often called "Disease Detectives" because it is their job to search for the cause of disease, identify people at risk, and determine how to control or stop the spread.

So when The New York Times asked 511 epidemiologists when they expect to resume 20 normal activities during the coronavirus pandemic, the experts stated that their answers "had nothing to do with calendar time." Rather, they responded based on personal life circumstance, risk tolerance, and when there would be more testing, contact tracing, and especially a vaccine for COVID-19.

The experts said that outdoor activities and small gatherings were safer than being indoors and added that face masks will be with us for a while. Daily chores like bringing in the mail without precautions, seeing a doctor for a non-urgent appointment, driving vacations, and getting a haircut at a salon or barber shop topped the list of activities they might be doing soon. At the bottom of their list were attending weddings or funerals, attending a sporting event, concert, or play, or attending church or another religious service. Less than 7% said they would stop wearing a face mask.

According to the Times, some experts said they would refrain from all 20 activities until a vaccine is available.

"As much as I hate working from home, I think working in a shared indoor space is the most dangerous thing we do," said Sally Picciotto of the University of California, Berkeley, one of the 18% of experts who responded that they would wait at least a year to return to the office.

One of the saddest responses gleaned from the survey was that epidemiologists said they may never greet people the same way again. A full 42% said they would not hug or shake hands for more than a year.

The responses of the experts mirrors a survey conducted by Morning Consult that found more than 25% of Americans would not visit a shopping mall for six months and approximately a third would not consider attending a concert, movie, or go to the gym.

According to the Times, epidemiologist T. Christopher Bond of Bristol Myers Squibb said "The world has changed and will be different for a long time. This is the crisis of our lifetime and we need to embrace it." But he added: "We know more every day."