Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - President Trump wants the country to be "re-opened" by Easter Sunday, just under three weeks from today.
Is the goal safe or realistic?
"I'm really not at all excited about that," said Dr. Tom Russo, Chief of Infectious Disease at UB's Jacobs School of Medicine.
"Particularly in Western New York at this time, we're really at a critical tipping point in terms of which direction this is going to go with the number of cases. More than ever, we need to practice our social distancing and 'up our game' at this point so we don't end up with the issues we're seeing elsewhere."
As of Tuesday night, Erie County reported 121 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. However, those are only the cases picked up by testing. Some healthcare experts have said we likely only detect about 10% of the total cases, so the number is likely over 1,000.
"We can't be complacent at this point," Dr. Russo said. "We can't say 'Oh, 121 cases, that's really good compared to downstate.' That can rapidly change, so I think we need to be cognizant that we have a chance to keep it under control here."
Economists agree that sending America back to work before the virus is adequately contained could have an adverse effect, with new flare-ups prolonging a recession.
LISTEN TO EXPERTS TONY OGOREK, OF OGOREK WEALTH MANAGEMENT, AND CALEB SILVER FROM INVESTOPEDIA.
"This virus has shown that it can spread extraordinarily rapidly, and that's why it's more important than ever that here in Western New York we really pull together and try and minimize that scenario here while we have a chance."
