We can probably stay sheltered in our homes, collectively flattening the curve of coronavirus infections, for several more weeks—maybe a few more months if we must. But for the sake of our mental health, not to mention that of the global economy, we can’t stay cooped up for the 12 to 18 months that it might take to create and validate vaccines or drugs that are effective against SARS-CoV-2.
So how do we safely roll back the current social-distancing measures? The emerging consensus is that it will happen region by region as falling infection rates allow, and with protective measures that include massively scaled-up diagnostic testing, contact tracing, and antibody testing to see who’s immune. Here in the US, as Gideon Lichfield explains in this episode of Deep Tech, we’re only at the beginning of those efforts.
Gideon Lichfield: The new normal will be that we are used to the idea that in some cases, being able to move around freely is dependent on us being able to show that we’re healthy.
Wade Roush: I imagine adoption of such a system would go up if it were paired with some kind of incentive, like, you don’t get to go back to work unless you’ve installed this app.
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