Trump extends national lockdown until May to combat Chinese coronavirus, but how widespread is infection?
President Donald Trump has extended the federal government’s recommendations to engage in social distancing, keep schools closed and to work from home if you can a few additional weeks until May 1 as nationwide efforts continue to combat the Chinese coronavirus and to save as many lives as possible. Initially, President Trump had stated April 12 as a national goal for potentially reopening the country, but now says that he is pushing that off three weeks as the White House coronavirus task force expects the virus to be peaking at that time. Thanks to the private sector getting involved, more than 1 million tests have been administered in the U.S., far more than any other country. But we probably need a lot more testing so that we can defeat the virus and get back to work as soon as possible, especially with an antibody test being developed. This is the type of test done with the blood that will tell a patient if they have or have had the virus, called serological testing. Now, plans are being put into place to implement that type of testing on a more widespread basis. If conducted across the population of a state or several states, with a wide enough randomized sample, such testing could give the President and state governors the information they will ultimately need to begin reopening things. What do you think?
