A prediction by Stanford University biophysicist and Nobellaureate Michael Levitt that new coronavirus is set to disappear soon as theworld observes social distancing has given a booster shot to the world that iscurrently reeling under the pandemic.
Levitt, who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry, earlierpredicted about the epidemic in China that it would get through the worst ofits devastating outbreak before several other health experts predicted.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, he said:”What we need is to control the panic… we’re going to be fine,” hesaid, adding that the data doesn’t support the doom epidemiologists have beenwarning about.
“Numbers are still noisy but there are clear signs ofslowed growth,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s data, there are now 35,224cases and 471 deaths in the US.
Globally, there are close to 4 lakh cases and over 17,000deaths as of now.
Levitt said that social-distancing mandates and gettingvaccinated against the flu are both critical to the fight against the spread.
The Nobel laureate also blamed the media for fanning outpanic.
Earlier, when China started reporting more deaths fromCOVID-19, Levitt sent out an optimistic report.
“This suggests that the rate of increase in number ofthe deaths will slow down even more over the next week,” he said in a notethat went viral on Chinese social media.
He predicted mid-February peak with a total tally of about80,000 cases and 3,250 deaths.
“As of March 16, China had counted a total of 80,298cases and 3,245 deaths”.
Levitt said that overreaction could trigger another crisis,with lost jobs and hopelessness around.