Two years
Without a vaccine, the virus is expected to circulate for years, and the death tally will rise over time. […] Only when tens of thousands of antibody tests are done will we know how many silent carriers there may be in the United States. The C.D.C. has suggested it might be 25 percent of those who test positive. Researchers in Iceland said it might be double that. […] There may be good news buried in this inconsistency: The virus may also be mutating to cause fewer symptoms. In the movies, viruses become more deadly. In reality, they usually become less so, because asymptomatic strains reach more hosts. At the moment, however, we do not know exactly how transmissible or lethal the virus is. But refrigerated trucks parked outside hospitals tell us all we need to know: It is far worse than a bad flu season. […] If Americans pour back out in force, all will appear quiet for perhaps three weeks. Then the emergency rooms will get busy again. […] The virus will blossom every time too many hosts emerge and force another lockdown. […] The tighter the restrictions, experts say, the fewer the deaths and the longer the periods between lockdowns. […] Reopening requires declining cases for 14 days, the tracing of 90 percent of contacts, an end to health care worker infections, recuperation places for mild cases and many other hard-to-reach goals. […] Immunity will become a societal advantage. “Those with antibodies will be able to travel and work, and the rest will be discriminated against.” […] Soon the government will have to invent a way to certify who is truly immune. […] The California adult-film industry pioneered a similar idea a decade ago. Actors use a cellphone app to prove they have tested H.I.V. negative in the last 14 days, and producers can verify the information on a password-protected website. […] The next two years will proceed in fits and starts, experts said. As more immune people get back to work, more of the economy will recover. But if too many people get infected at once, new lockdowns will become inevitable. To avoid that, widespread testing will be imperative. [NY Times]
South Korea is trying to solve a mystery: why 163 people who recovered from coronavirus have retested positive […] the proportion of cases that retest positive is low, 2.1% […] For now, the most likely explanation of why people are retesting positive seems to be that the test is picking up remnants of the virus.
The dating industry was poised to take a hit amid the coronavirus outbreak as potential suitors are generally unable to meet in-person. Platform Match, which also owns Tinder and OkCupid, has seen stocks tumble 25%. But daters are turning to digital courtship through video chats and virtual activities as an alternative. [AXIOS]
