New Study Found Shutdowns Prevented 60M COVID-19 Infections in the U.S.

The mass shutdowns in the United States and around the world during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic were incredibly challenging, but they saved countless lives.

In two studies published by the British scientific journal Nature, it was found that the shutdowns helped prevent about 60 million COVID-19 infections in the United States and about 285 million in China while the shutdowns also prevented about 3.1 million deaths across Europe.

While this is great news, Samir Bhatt, the senior author of the European study, notes to The Washington Post, "only about 3 percent to 4 percent of people in the countries being studied have been infected to date."

Bhatt also said, "This is just the beginning of the epidemic: we’re very far from herd immunity. The risk of a second wave happening if all interventions and precautions are abandoned is very real."