…. a fatal mixture!
This calculation we made based on our observations over the last week.
It is a simple addition of three factors.
- Economically, the hope for an early re-opening of businesses was understandable, especially for small enterprises. When obeying some safety precautions, this is feasible. Businesses that allow physical distance for all persons in a room should be able to operate when keeping rules of hygiene and distancing. This requires cooperation of all people involved. Once single persons disobey these measures, be it due to recklessness, stupidity or ignorance, these measures don’t make any sense.
- The wearing of community masks in the public is very problematic. These masks are an article of fashion. They reduce the spread of viral particles depending on a) the fabric used, b) the number of plies, and c) the wearer’s discipline. The correct use of masks we have already explained in detail in the following post: https://www.sajo-innovation.de/blog/face-masks-for-all-hotly-debated/ We still hear people say that they are protecting themselves with a community mask. This is nonsense.
- Over the five weeks of mandatory contact reduction, numbers of infection decreased – but not as significantly as hoped. There are reasons. The biggest impact is the fact that a significant part of the public did not adhere strictly to the rules of physical distancing. Such ignorance gave the virus opportunity to happily spread among people.
The combination of these three factors is very dangerous: The opening of businesses on a broad scale is suggesting the public a return to normality. The wearing of masks is giving the people a false sense of security. The ignorant help to spread the virus further.
The past five weeks made sure that the ICUs have not been overwhelmed. They also helped to avoid a stronger than expected viral spread. The measures worked. However, we should not forfeit this preliminary success through carelessness. Should the infection numbers show another steep increase, the measures will have to be put in place again, which would be a difficult situation for society and economy.
The current situation is like a walk on the cliff. If everyone is sticking to the rules of physical distancing and hygiene, this might go well, if at the same time the number of ignorants is declining. Think about the alternative.
In the upcoming weeks, we expect a strong increase of infections, should the behavior in the public not change.
We hope for your support, and don’t forget, your health is your reward.
Keep the lights on,
Sabine and Joerg
Meet Dr. Sabine Breun at XING: https://www.xing.com/profile/Sabine_Breun
Sabine and Joerg at the interview: https://www.sajo-innovation.de/blog/sajo-sabine-and-joerg-bb-breun-baumann/
sajo in a nutshell: https://www.sajo-innovation.de/blog/sajo-in-a-nutshell-sajo-develops-broadly-active-antivirals/