Dr. Siegel: Efficacy of quarantines and social distancing
Dr. Marc Siegel discusses how testing and social distancing can 'flatten the curve' and reduce the spread of coronavirus
Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Marc Siegel said on Monday that it is important to cancel large social gatherings because the coronavirus is classified as “highly contagious.”
“For every person that has it, two or two-and-a-half more people get it,” Siegel told “Fox & Friends.”
“If you’re at a bar drinking with your buddies, which everybody is still doing, unfortunately — it’s a free-for-all. It’s going to spread from one person there who has it to two to three or more people,” Seigel said.
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Siegel said that social distancing means “sitting six feet apart from people, frequently washing hands and using disinfectant products.”
The spreading coronavirus outbreak has shut down more and more of American life — including schools, sporting events, bars, and now even elections.
Multiple states have either announced they are postponing their presidential primary elections due to concerns about the novel coronavirus or made clear they are considering it.
This comes as top election officials in Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Illinois issued a statement Friday saying they will go on with their Tuesday, March 17 elections, writing, "Americans have participated in elections during challenging times in the past ... we are confident that voters in our states can safely and securely cast their ballots in this election."
Siegel said that people are mostly asymptomatic in the early days of contracting the virus and that is when most of the transmission occurs. Siegel said that concert attendance in Boston started an outbreak throughout Massachusetts, “leading to hospitalizations in major medical centers” there.
Siegel said that stopping concert gatherings will help stop the spread of the virus. Officials have also warned that the virus can spread from a person who is not yet showing symptoms, placing added importance on social distancing and staying home.
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The virus has infected more than 156,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,800. Nearly 74,000 people worldwide have recovered after being infected.
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
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