DANVILLE – Getting the state restarted, and doing it in phases, are good ideas to Geisinger President and CEO Dr. Jaewon Ryu, but his view is that the peak in our region may not happen until late into the summer.
During an update Friday, Dr. Ryu said the Valley may not see a peak until June, July or August.
“If the peak is July or August, it may still mean you’re still having cases well into the fall. So I think that’s important to remember. Regardless of what the timing of the peak is, regardless of the geography you’re in, you don’t go to the peak and then it goes to zero, it gradually comes back down,” Ryu said.
Dr. Ryu says the Valley’s peak will follow what happens in northeast Pennsylvania. “What we’ve seen is that as the northeast starts to flatten and plateau, the other areas will in a staggered way, closely follow behind it by 3-4 weeks at a time,” he said.
But Dr. Ryu says the state’s plan to reopen in phases now is still the best plan. “I like the fact that if you’re identifying certain functions, versus other functions, it feels like that’s a better way to approach it, to approach it in phases. This doesn’t flip on like a switch, this is like a dimmer. The activity doesn’t shut down all at once, and even as we get back in, I don’t think it picks back up at once,” Ryu said.