Epidemiologist Dr. David Heymann, who led the World Health Organization’s response to the SARS outbreak, said Sunday the coronavirus pandemic is both “vicious” and “violent,” and that a battle strategy only works if started early.
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” the professor and now WHO adviser said the pandemic is particularly deadly.
"Everywhere it has appeared, it's caused great numbers of people to die,” he said. “And it's also spread very easily in communities. So what's happening in the U.S. has happened around the world."
He said the U.S. strategy to battle COVID-19 must start early and be persistent.
“The strategy works only if it's started early and if it's continued even during a time when there are many cases,” he said. “The objective is to identify people who are infected… and to isolate those people and stop transmission… as well as physical distancing.”
He said easing up on restrictions has to be a decision that conducts a “risk assessment.”
“China has already begin to unlock its heavy industrial sector and small business sector,” and is watching closely to see if a transmission increases, he said.
Countries “need to understand where the majority of transmission is occurring and they need keep those sectors locked down most while unlocking sectors were transmission is less important, and having measures in place to stop transmission is it occurs again,” he said.
He also said it’s “too early to say” if a person infected with COVID-19 then has immunity to it.
“Hopefully there will be a solid immunity that develops so that vaccines can be developed that will be effective and other means of prevention will be possible,” he said.
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