Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - How low can we go?
Even as the Western New York region has been slowly reopening, the number of COVID hospitalizations continues to decrease, and the percentage of positive test results remains steady at 1%.
How much lower can those numbers realistically go?
“I don’t think we’re going to hit zero,” said Dr. Tom Russo, Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Jacobs School of Medicine. “Our numbers look great, but we need to remain vigilant.”
In states where masks have not been mandatory, Coronavirus cases have been increasing. Russo said that mask usage combined with social distancing are the most important factors in limiting the spread, and should be the most important factors in deciding how to reopen.
“Indoor activities, if you use masks at all times, it’s going to be relatively safe. You can never get the risk down to zero,” Russo said. “When we can’t use masks indoors is when we eat or drink. Right now we have indoor restaurants open… If we mandated masks in the mall and movie theaters, and took food out of the equation… I think that would be relatively safe.”
Russo believes gyms can be a bit more tricky, given it’s unclear if masks would be a requirement and that people are breathing heavier in an indoor setting. Still, he believes we’re close to opening most things up.