"This [COVID-19] virus is already all around the country. Think of this like seasonal influenza. We have regions that in any given week have more activity than other regions, but by the time the entire season is done, it’s covered the entire country. And when was the last time anyone thought of quarantining the United States for seasonal influenza?"
"I think right now we're in uncharted territory with this [COVID-19] virus. By July, it could be largely absent from our communities or it could be a big problem. By early May we ought to be starting to have a better handle on it."
"You can make a vaccine against anything overnight. The challenge is does it work and is it safe? This is a long laborious process that can sometimes take many years, even under the best of conditions."
"We just can’t shut down the world. So our job is going to be in the face of this coronavirus problem of making sure we also provide for the basic necessities for everyone until we get through."
"While the case-fatality rate is much lower [with the COVID-19 virus], the transmission is quite dynamic, and many more people will get it. So comparing this illness with SARS or MERS is not helpful."
"It [community COVID-19 spread] just tells us where there is testing, there are cases. And that’s what we have to understand. There is no such thing as a barrier containment to keep these out. It's going to happen. And what we have to do now is get on with how we're going to deal with them."
"We need, right now, to really develop communication plans so that we're checking on people every day. That's the kind of thing that's going to get us through this [COVID-19 outbreak]; it's not going to be some magic bullet or the fact that we're going to be protected by masks. That's not going to happen."
"Our prediction is we're going to start seeing widespread [COVID-19] transmission in the United States in the next 4 to 6 weeks. It's already occurring as early transmission now. We're just missing it because of the inability to test."
"Of course it is [a pandemic]. We're there. It doesn't matter what kind of terminology you use.... We can either use pandemic as a word that makes us all quake with fear or we can use it as a rallying cry to say, 'This is what we're going to do to fight it.' "
"We are not encouraging the use of these N95 respirators by the public. We are going to be in short supply anyway and we need to reserve these for our health care workers."
"No. 1, we've got to really shore up in our health care facilities around the country, making sure we have as much protective equipment available as possible [to protect against COVID-19]."
"And what should each of us do, beyond staying informed and washing our hands frequently? Keep calm and rational. It might be worth stocking some reserve of critical medications, for example — but not too much, ecause hoarding could create shortages."
"As chilling as it is to imagine this scenario, what happened in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the outbreak, will likely play out elsewhere, too. Hospitals might have to turn away all but the people most seriously ill."
"The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 seems to spread like influenza, through the air, person to person. Unlike Ebola, SARS and MERS, it can be transmitted by individuals before the onset of symptoms or even if they don’t become ill."
"Basically if you get tested and you’re found and you’re positive [for the COVID-19 virus], then we know. But how many people right now are not being tested who are just like this case in Canada?"
"[The United States] will have many of the same challenges that China is experiencing. We will have too few hospital beds needed for both COVID-19 cases and other patients with the background illnesses we would expect to see every day. In addition, there will not be nearly enough personal protective equipment (PPE) available to protect health-care workers."
