How Philly's shutdown saved thousands of lives, according to Drexel researchers

Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)

May 13--TL;DR: A Drexel University team of public health researchers estimated that the first 45 days of Philadelphia's shutdown, which began March 23, avoided about 57,000 hospitalizations and saved 6,200 lives. Here is how Pennsylvania decides when counties can reopen. Pennsylvania health officials announced today that they would require mass testing of tens of thousands of nursing home staff and residents.

-- Ellie Silverman (@esilverman11, health@inquirer.com)

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Pennsylvania health officials said Tuesday they would require mass testing of tens of thousands of nursing home staff and residents. This announcement comes after Pennsylvania long-term care facilities have been struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus. More than two-thirds of the more than 3,800 Pennsylvanians who have died of the coronavirus were residents of nursing or personal-care homes. "This effort will give us a clearer picture of the extent of outbreaks in nursing homes and a head-start at stopping them," Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said. Read more here about Pennsylvania's plan.

A Drexel University team of public health researchers used an interactive model developed by the New York Times to estimate how many hospitalizations and deaths were prevented in 30 big cities, including Philadelphia. The researchers estimated the first 45 days of the city's shutdown, which began March 23, prevented about 57,000 hospitalizations and 6,200 deaths. Staying home until May 22 would prevent 68,000 hospitalizations and 7,100 deaths. Read more here about what the researchers found.

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