MedExpert Quick Answers
By MedExpert | Mar 25, 2020
Q
Why is social distancing so important?
A
A new study published in the highly reputable medical journal Science, describes why social distancing is so important to slow the spread of COVID-19. The paper mathematically models the spread of the coronavirus within China from January 2020 to current. Here are the highlights.
- For every confirmed case of COVID-19, there are likely another five to 10 people with undetected infections.
- Although they are thought to be only about half as infectious as individuals with confirmed COVID-19, individuals with undetected infections were so prevalent in China that they apparently were the infection source for 79 percent of confirmed cases.
- After China established travel restrictions and social distancing, the spread of COVID-19 slowed considerably.
Substantial undocumented infection facilitates the rapid dissemination of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2). Li R, Pei S, Chen B, Song Y, Zhang T, Yang W, Shaman J. Science. 16 March 2020. [Preprint ahead of publication]
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