Social distancing and other nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have proven to be effective tools in most pandemics. But their effect on the spread of the novel coronavirus is not yet clear, experts say.
The goal of NPIs — which include personal actions, such as staying at home when sick and washing hands, and communal ones, including school closures and cancelling mass gatherings — is to flatten the height of the infection curve and build herd immunity, thus buying time to increase hospital capacity and to come up with drugs or vaccines to treat the illness.
State and local officials have been issuing stay-at-home and social distancing orders and closing schools at different times and with varying levels of restrictions.
Social distancing is one of the only tools left to contain the spread because the time has passed for widespread testing and contact tracing — the initial steps that could have been taken.
Dr. Sriharsha Tikka 