51ºÚÁÏ

Comparing the virus to the flu, he pointed out on Monday that “only� 22 people in the U.S. had died from coronavirus. “Think about that!� the president said.

Holden Thorp thinks about that every day. As the editor-in-chief of the family of journals, he is overseeing a team of science journalists who are at the forefront of , while also publishing the research about death rates of coronavirus and attempts to develop treatments and a vaccine.

The president isn’t helping matters, Thorp says.

“The president tweeted this morning that this situation isn’t worse than the flu and we have no science supporting his position,� Thorp says. “That’s really dangerous.�

In fact, says Thorp, research so far shows that the death rate of the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, seems to be much higher than the flu, which generally has an annual death rate of 0.1%. The death rate of COVID-19 is as the testing is not widespread, but scientists have estimated it was near 2.9% near its epicenter in China, while the death rate has been as high as 5% in some areas.

That’s why, Thorp says, it’s so important for countries to try to contain the virus and minimize its spread now, so it never reaches the number of people who are infected annually with flu. And one of the most important strategies for people and institutions in cities where COVID-19 is spreading is to practice “social distancing,� Thorp says.

In his past life, Thorp, a chemist by training, was the provost at Washington University in 51ºÚÁÏ. He’s still on faculty there, but on sabbatical as he leads Science. Were he in his old role, he’d encourage limiting interaction as much as possible to slow the spread of COVID-19, specifically limiting big lecture hall gatherings, encouraging as many people as possible to work from home, and, yes, closing schools as necessary.

That’s what happened in 51ºÚÁÏ on Monday, as the first confirmed case of COVID-19 led to the closure of private Catholic schools Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, after the father and sister of a college-age woman with the virus attended a father-daughter dance Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton. Several other schools also sent letters letting parents know that some students had attended a pre-dance party with the virus patient’s family members, or had been in the house where the party was held, and had been asked to stay home from school.

On Monday, Thorp’s former campus announced that all nonessential foreign travel has been put on hold. At least one large gathering at the campus, a conference on flood policy, has been canceled.

In New York, which has been hard hit by COVID-19, Fordham University shut down classes. In Atlanta, the city’s largest public school district shut down after an employee was diagnosed with the virus. The Creve Coeur campus of Bayer shut down for a cleaning because an employee is suspected of having contracted COVID-19.

While folks should not panic, this will be — and should be — the new normal for a while, Thorp says.

“It’s a good thing that young people are not getting that sick, but young people can spread the virus,� he says. “What we really don’t want is for the health care system to be overwhelmed. The worry is that the people who need to be hospitalized won’t be able to get into the system.�

Thorp said he expected the presidential campaigns of Trump and his Democratic rivals, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, to cancel campaign rallies, where handshaking is a staple and one person infected with COVID-19 can exponentially spread the virus. That happened on Tuesday afternoon, when both Biden and Sanders canceled planned rallies after primary votes in several states.

There’s nothing partisan about that position, says Thorp. It’s just science, and for the first time in his tenure as president, it’s time for Trump to embrace it.

It is science that will reduce the spread of the virus, that will work to develop a drug to treat coronavirus symptoms and a vaccine that will protect healthy people from COVID-19.

“For the past four years the Trump Administration has rejected science,� Thorp says. “But now they really need us.�