A new study found that social distancing worked to limit the spread of coronavirus in the United States.
The study published in the Journal Health Affairs on Thursday found the government-imposed guidelines cut the virus' daily growth rate by about 9 percent after roughly three weeks.
Without any social distancing measures at all, the number of coronavirus cases in the US could have been 35 times higher, the researchers estimated.
Shelter-in-place orders and the closure of restaurants and bars seemed particularly effective at slowing the spread of the virus, the researchers found. Bans on large events and the closure of public schools alone didn’t seem to affect the growth rate.
The research also says social distancing may have prevented tens of millions of infections.
