A Long Way To Go

DR. Michael Osterholm is an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota.

He compares this pandemic to baseball.

We're only in the second inning of a nine inning game

We've been navigating the coronavirus pandemic for over two months now... you may feel like we've been through a lot already... but we're learning we still have a long ways to go.

Kimt news 3's annalise johnson is speaking to one of the top epidimiologists in the country.

She joins us live with the latest outlook.

Annalise?

Live katie?

I'm here at silverlake park in rochester.

Describe what i see... for many?

The outdoors and nice weather has been a saving grace during the stay at home order.

The sunshine and warm weather may have you feeling hopeful that we'll soon be back to normal... but the epidimiologist i spoke to today tells me we're not even close.x "things are going to get worse, not better."

Dr. michael osterholm is an infectious disease expert at the university of minnesota.

He compares this pandemic to baseball... right now?

We're only in the second inning of a nine inning game.

"i worry that people are taking this situation now as if we're just about over the hump, we're just about done, we'll get over this curb, we'll get to summer, everything will quiet down."

A vaccine could make a world of a difference to restore normalcy?

But we're still at least months away from that happening.

Only about ?

15% of americans have been infected with the virus so far... but 6?70% will need to be infected before we achieve herd immunity.

"we have a long ways to go to get to that."

Osterholm says there is strong data showing staying at home is working to flatten the curve... but there's no way to know for sure how states reopening businesses and public spaces will impact the spread.

There's a fine balance between protecting our health?

And protecting our economy.

"what we're trying to do is weave a middle ground.

How do we, as i say, thread the rope through the needle."

But we don't have to choose one or the other.

"it's not one or the other and i worry that we're starting to place it in that kind of context, as one or the other and thats not the case."

We may never return to life as we knew it before the pandemic.

"we will never go back to what was once normal.

We will have a new normal.

What we're not sure yet of at this point, is what that means.

Meaning that how we get through the next 12 to 18 months or more of this virus transmitting in our communities with the hope of a vaccine somewhere having an impact on that, is yet to be determined.

We don't know."

But osterholm stresses we will get through it.

But how we do it is what will make the difference.

What will define us as a human race will be less about dealing with the virus, but how we deal with each other."

Dr. osterholm is concerned people are getting too caught up in political arguments instead of coming together to find meaningful community solutions to get us through this pandemic.

Remember we will get through this?

But the end is not yet in sight.

Live in rocheste?

Annalise johnso?kimt news 3 thank you annalise.

To put into perspective just how far minnesota has to go... osterholm estimates only about ?

Percent of minnesotans have been infected./ new