3:09
- ABC News
- April 2, 2020
Texas, Florida may next hot spots for COVID-19
New York has been labeled as the current epicenter of the outbreak.
Video by Will Linendoll
Experts agree that states that have not done so yet should impose stricter social distancing and policies to reduce mobility. Their stance, they say, is backed up by new data that finds social distancing measures work.
A recent set of studies in King County, Washington, used Facebook data to monitor the movement of the population. They found that having a population limit their movement to public places resulted in much slower disease spread.
But it is not yet time to celebrate. Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer with Public Health Seattle and King County, notes that \"No one should take these findings as an indication to relax our social distancing strategy. The threat of a rebound that could overwhelm the healthcare system remains.\"
But strict social distancing measures simply might not work in every city and every state.
In Cumming, Georgia, the mayor posted on Facebook, \"Effective immediately I have rescinded the social distancing order that took effect on the morning of April 1, 2020…. [because] it is obvious that a large portion of our public doesn't want government mandating the recommendations of public health officials.\"
Experts warn this kind of public response is dangerous, as it may allow the disease to spread.
Brownstein notes, \"It’s all about trying to reduce community and individual mobility early. That’s where you have the greatest amount of impact on an epidemic.\"
Vinayak Kumar, M.D., M.B.A., an internal medicine resident at Mayo Clinic, are contributors to the ABC News Medical Unit.
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