JAY
JAY GRAY
JAY GRAY NBC NEWS. >>> WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT
GOVERNOR POLIS YESTERDAY,
TRANSITIONING FROM THE STAY-AT-
HOME ORDER TO A SAFER-AFTER-
HOME ORDER, WHICH STARTS NEXT
WEEK.
WEEK.
WEEK. MANY EXPERTS SAY THESE
DECISIONS NEED TO BE DRIVEN BY
DATA AND SCIENCE, SO LET'S TAKE
A LOOK AT THE SCIENCE, FACTORS
THAT GO INTO THE DECISION
MAKING WITH OUR 9 HEALTH EXPERT
DR. PAYAL KOHLI.
AND LET'S DIVE RIGHT INTO IT.
WHAT ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS WE
NEED TO HAVE WHEN DECIDING WHEN
TO OPEN AND WHAT TO OPEN?
>> SO TOM THERE'S FOUR MORE
FACTORS TO LOOK AT.
THE FIRST IS THE TRAJECTORY OF
THE CASES.
THE CASES. SO ARE WE GOING UP THE
MOUNTAIN?
MOUNTAIN?
MOUNTAIN? ARE WE AT THE TOP OF THE
MOUNTAIN OR ARE WE COMING DOWN
THE MOUNTAIN?
THE MOUNTAIN? IN NEW YORK WE'VE SEEN GOVERNOR
CUOMO STATED THEY'RE COMING
DOWN THE MOUNTAIN.
I'M WORRIED HERE IN COLORADO
WE'RE STILL GOING UP THE
MOUNTAIN BECAUSE THE CASES HAVE
NOT PEAKED OFF.
THEY'RE INCREASING EVERY DAY.
AND THE WHITE HOUSE TASK FORCE
HAS TOLD US WE NEED TO IS HAVE
14 DAYS STRAIGHT OF CASES
COMING DOWN BEFORE WE CAN START
TO THINK ABOUT EASING THOSE
RESTRICTIONS.
RESTRICTIONS. THE SECOND THING WE NEED TO
THINK ABOUT IS THE REPRODUCTIVE
NUMBER OF THE VIRUS.
WE WERE TOLD IN EARLY APRIL
THAT THAT REPRODUCTIVE NUMBER
IS ACTUALLY THREE TO FOUR.
MEANING EVERY PERSON THAT HAS
IT INFECTS THREE OR FOUR
OTHERS.
OTHERS.
OTHERS. IT NEEDS TO BE BELOW ONE FOR US
TO EASE THE RESTRICTIONS.
THE THIRD FACTOR WE NEED TO
THINK ABOUT IS TESTING.
WHETHER WE HAVE ADEQUATE
TESTING.
TESTING.
TESTING. AND WE DON'T HAVE ADEQUATE
TESTING AT THIS TIME, BUT
REALLY WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE
RATE OF POSITIVE TESTING.
HERE IN COLORADO WE'RE HAVING A
21% POSITIVE RATE AND THAT IS
JUST TOO HIGH.
WHAT WE HAVE HEARD FROM THE
W.H.O.
W.H.O.
W.H.O. IS
W.H.O. IS IT NEEDS TO BE UNDER 10% FOR
US TO KNOW WE'RE DOING ENOUGH
TESTS.
TESTS.
TESTS. AND THEN THE FINAL IS DO WE
HAVE THAT ARMY OF PEOPLE WE
NEED TO DO CONTACT TRACING?
DO WE HAVE TREATMENT RESOURCES?
DO WE HAVE PPE?
AND THOSE NUMBERS ARE ALSO
SKEPTICAL.
SKEPTICAL. IF WE OPEN UP THE FLOOD GATES
AND START DOING ELECTIVE
SURGERIES IN THE HOSPITALS, ARE
WE GOING TO HAVE ROOM FOR OUR
COVID PATIENTS IF WE SEE THAT
SPIKE?
SPIKE?
SPIKE? >>
SPIKE? >> YEAH TESTING, TRACING, AND
TREATMENT.
TREATMENT. WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THOSE
ANSWERS YET.
ANSWERS YET. BUT SOME OF THESE SPECIFIC
INDUSTRIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE
ALLOWED TO REOPEN AGAIN
INCLUDING PLACES LIKE NAIL
SALONS AND TATTOO PARLORS, I
IMAGINE THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'RE
NOT TOO COMFORTABLE WITH?
>> YES, YOU READ MY MIND.
TWO QUESTIONS WHEN WE TALK
ABOUT WHICH BUSINESSES TO OPEN.
HOW ESSENTIAL ARE THEY?
AND HOW CLOSE IS THE CONTACT?
IS AND FOR NAIL SALONS AND
TATTOO PARLORS, THEY'RE NOT
ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES, AND
THERE'S EXTREMELY CLOSE CONTACT
WHERE YOU ARE PHYSICALLY
TOUCHING SOMEONE.
TOUCHING SOMEONE. NOW TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
DIAGRAM, WHICH IS A STUDY OUT
OF CHINA, THAT TELLS US ABOUT A
RESTAURANT.
RESTAURANT. SO WE'RE NOT QUITE OPENING UP
RESTAURANTS HERE IN COLORADO,
BUT WE KNOW THEY'RE PLANNING TO
OPEN THEM ON MONDAY.
THE PERSON IN YELLOW WAS THE
PERSON INFECTED.
PERSON INFECTED. THEY INFECTED NINE OTHER
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. YOU CAN SEE THAT WAS FOUR
PEOPLE AT THE SAME TABLE AND
PEOPLE AT OTHER TABLES AS WELL.
ALL THE WAY ON THE RIGHT, YOU
SEE THAT'S WHERE THE
VENTILATION SYSTEM WAS, THE AIR-
CONDITIONING.
CONDITIONING. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE
LEARNING THIS ASYMPTOMATIC
PERSON WHO IS SITTING AT A
TABLE RELATIVELY FAR AWAY FROM
SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT
THEY INFECTED ACTUALLY HAD
THEIR RESPIRATORY DROPLETS
POTENTIALLY CARRIED ACROSS THE
ROOM BY THE VENTILATION SYSTEM.
NOW YOU CAN SEE THIS AT A HAIR
SALON, BLOWING MY DROPLETS TO
THE PERSON SITTING NEXT TO ME.
THE RISK OF GETTING INFECTED
FENDS ON HOW LONG YOU'RE IN
THAT PLACE AND USUALLY PLACES
IN HAIR SALONS, YOU'RE THERE
FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR, SIMILAR
TO A MASSAGE PARLOR, SIMILAR TO
A RESTAURANT.
A RESTAURANT. SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU
HAVE TO THINK ABOUT.
IF WE DON'T HAVE OUR TESTING IN
PLACE, WE'RE ALLOWING THE
SOCIAL DISTANCING TO RELAX.
IN A FEW WEEKS WE'RE GOING TO
SEE PEOPLE SHOWING UP AT THE
HOSPITALS.
HOSPITALS. >> WELL IT'S OBVIOUSLY STUFF
PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO CONSIDER
AND TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT,
BUT ULTIMATELY I THINK MANY
PEOPLE WILL HAVE THEIR OWN
HEALTH AT STAKE AND MAKE THEIR
DECISIONS ON THEIR OWN AS THESE
GUIDELINES START TO RELAX