Dr. Oz says New Yorkers will have to 'think twice' before attending crowded events
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Dr. Mehmet Oz warned Monday that the reopening of the U.S. economy would need to be a gradual process in the absence of widespread testing and a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
Oz joined "Hannity," to respond to President Trump's announcement that a decision will be reached "shortly" on reopening the economy. Trump announced last week that he would form a second coronavirus task force focused on that goal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This city still isn’t past the crisis," Oz said, referring to New York City, which has emerged as the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S.
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"ER's [emergency rooms] are still busy enough, not as busy as they were a couple of days ago, which is good news but the ICU's are still plenty busy and that’s why I think we have to start off in Texas and in other states that have not been hit as hard to work through some of the kinks."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I love football, but you’ve got to think twice before going into a packed crowd when you’ve got a big problem like this."
Oz said "New York is the ultimate stress test," and said federal health officials should issue guidance about seemingly mundane things, such as navigating crowded elevators and public restrooms.
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"We know for sure New York isn't first but let’s work out some of the things ... like containment issues that don’t tread on civil liberties. Are there ways of doing it? Of course there are. We have smart people but it’s going to take some elbow grease," Oz said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We will have to test people more effectively than we have in the past," the "Dr. Oz Show" host continued.
Oz said the government should also offer guidance to the public on "what to do if you do test positive, so we can help people along. "
"Let’s figure that out in places that aren’t in crisis mode ... and then roll that up in New York, I have no doubt that once they figure it out in the middle of the country, we will be able to use it on the coast as well," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Asked about the dangers of densely packed sports stadiums and crowded arenas in New York, Oz encouraged residents to "think twice" before entering a crowd once the stay-at-home restrictions are lifted.
"I love football, but you’ve got to think twice before going into a packed crowd when you’ve got a big problem like this going on and certainly people who go should not be high risk," he said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This is a sensitive discussion but we are going to want to help people who have comorbidities, who represent 90 percent of the hospital admissions because we don’t want them getting exposed," Oz cautioned. "It’s not good for them."