Chairman of the national corona center (LCPS) Bas Leerink crushes all false hopes for a quick return to normal. “Not without a vaccine,” he concludes. But of course he does not warn for nothing!
The pressure on intensive care seems to be easing, the number of new infections is slowly decreasing, as is the daily number of new deaths from corona. This creates the vain hope that we could cautiously go back to “normal”. That is not there according to Leerink: “I even wonder if it will ever go back to normal. I honestly think that that only happens when we have a vaccine. This virus can flare up again at any time. So in any case, it will not become normal in the next 1.5 years. ”
The first reason he gives for this is the fact that one infected person in a crowded room is enough to cause another wave of infections. That the daily new numbers of the various corona cases seem to be falling is good news in itself, but it is also a crucial time. His second reason: now that measures are relaxed increases the risk of (yet) an overload of capacity.
The third reason is the rest acute care (not yet specifically filled in) has largely come to a standstill. People who could wait a few more weeks have gradually run out of time. Relaxing measures would immediately put a lot of burden on healthcare staff again, and certainly deprives them of the already small chance of a much-needed respite.
The fourth reason is economic in nature, as several hospitals may be distressed. The uncertainty involved is, of course, a problem.
With these situations in mind, it may become clear why it is so important that measures should not simply be relaxed. And that is very annoying, yes, but we just have to bite through the sour apple until there is a vaccine. 2020 still has enough drama potential for the rest of the year, and got off to a flying start…
