This was the week the United States embarked on what is essentially a massive, unplanned natural experiment, as dozens of states lifted or eased stay-at-home orders imposed during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“I think there is clearly a natural experiment taking place right now, but it is definitely not one that is going to be easy to analyze,” said Jon Zelner, an epidemiologist from the University of Michigan. The number of variables — such as geography, population, infrastructure and health care — will make effective comparisons hard. “That doesn’t mean there is nothing to learn here,” Zelner said, “but I think the learning will probably be around patterns that are not deeply nuanced.”
Dionne Aleman, director of the Medical Operations Research Lab and CHE Affiliate at the University of Toronto, says the amount of travel between states further confounds things.
Full article at: Toronto Star (May 8: CoronaVirusNewsLive.com, Flamborough Review, Hamilton Spectator, Inside Ottawa Valley, Mimic News, Muskokan, Newscaf, Our Windsor, ParrySound.com, Peterborough Examiner, The Record, Toronto.com, WorldNews.net, YorkRegion.com)
- A made-in-America end to lockdown (May 9: Toronto Star // Press Reader)
- This end of COVID-19 blockages could only have taken place in America (May 9: FR24 News)