RELEASE: New Estimates Show That No States Meet Incidence and Testing Thresholds Necessary To Stave Off Future Outbreaks and Lockdowns – Center For…

Washington, D.C. Today, the Center for American Progress released a new column identifying key evidence-based thresholds that states should meet before reopening their economies. The estimates arefor both COVID-19 incidence levelsor the rate of occurrence of new casesand testing thresholdsfor all 50 states and the District of Columbia. They were generated using South Korea as a model, as it is the only sizable country in the world that has been able to control transmission without a lockdown.

The analysis finds that no state currently meets both the incidence and testing thresholdsestimated for their state; only eightstates Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia meet the incidence threshold; and only Rhode Island meets the testing threshold. The estimates are particularly significant given that31 states have begun to partially reopen.

The only way to break the paralysis for the long term is for states to have sufficient strategies and resources needed tocontain the spread of COVID-19, saidTopher Spiro, vice president for Health Policy at CAP. These estimates suggest that, across the board, states decisions to relax stay-at-home efforts are premature and risk a substantial second wave and corresponding economic shutdown. Whether or not a states economy is legally open, the public will not engage with it unless and until the virus is contained.

Please click here to read Evidence-Based Thresholds States Must Meet To Control Coronavirus Spread and Safely Reopen Their Economies by Topher Spiro and Emily Gee.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Colin Seeberger at gro.ssergorpnacirema@regrebeesc or 202-741-6292.

To find the latest CAP resources on the coronavirus, visit ourcoronavirus resource page.

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RELEASE: New Estimates Show That No States Meet Incidence and Testing Thresholds Necessary To Stave Off Future Outbreaks and Lockdowns - Center For...