Studies suggest targeted lockdowns of restaurants, gyms, hotels to curb Covid

Research finds 10 percent of locations cause most coronavirus infections

(iStock)
(iStock)

Going to a restaurant, gym or hotel? It may not be as safe as you’d think.

A new study by researchers at Stanford University and Northwestern University tracked the movement of people and compared it to Covid outbreaks, according to Bloomberg.

The study estimated that just 10 percent of locations account for 85 percent of predicted infections.

In Chicago, for example, the study found that if restaurants were to reopen at full capacity, they would generate almost 600,000 new infections, three times as many as other sector reopenings.

Such granular information “shows us where there is vulnerability,” Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, which wasn’t involved in the study, told Bloomberg. “Then what you need to do is concentrate on the areas that light up.”

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The good news for real estate in the findings is that the virus could be brought under control with targeted measures rather than broad shutdowns of businesses.

The studies come as cases rise dramatically across the country, including in New York and New Jersey. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that another lockdown may be imminent, although data show that New York is still faring better against Covid than all but two other states.

[Bloomberg] — Sasha Jones

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