EDITORIAL: Vigilance remains vital, but signs point to progress in coronavirus battle

As Nevada enters the second month of the coronavirus shutdown, most residents remain hunkered in their homes and the extent of the economic devastation continues to spread. But we may take solace in the increasing evidence of progress — locally, nationally and worldwide — in the fight against this pandemic.

At the state and local level, the number of new infections identified through testing has fallen in recent days. The Clark County Health Department reported 120 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday. It was the third straight day of declines after a peak of 266 new cases on Friday. State officials reported a similar trend.

In addition, Southern Nevada has so far avoided the spike that public health professionals feared would overwhelm the region’s hospitals. Health care professionals report a shortage of personal protective equipment, but medical resources remain available for the sick and the system has unused capacity.

Nationally, containment measures appear to be easing the pain in many hotspots, including New York City. New cases in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, fell below 29,000 on Sunday “for the first time since April 5.” The national death toll — which surpassed 25,000 on Tuesday — is heartbreaking, yet expected to be significantly lower than many experts predicted. Governors across the country are finally contemplating how to gradually reopen their economies.

On a global scale, two of the hardest-hit countries, Spain and Italy, have begun loosening the draconian restrictions imposed on citizens to slow the spread of coronavirus. Dr. Sebastian Johnson, a professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, told The Associated Press “it appeared that COVID-19 had peaked in much of Europe.”

None of this is to minimize the importance of continued precautions to cripple the virus. The next few weeks — and months — remain vital in terms of analyzing additional data and ensuring that the progress continues.

“We could be in kind of a plateau for a while because our control measures have kept things at a constant rate,” said Brian Labus, a UNLV assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics. “Clearly, if we see a continuing downward trend, then you can say we’re on the other side of this outbreak.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the administration’s point man on the crisis, emphasized Tuesday the dangers of complacency. “This is not the time to feel that since we have made such important advance in the sense of success of the mitigation,” he said, “that we need to be pulling back at all.”

He’s correct, of course. But even his warning acknowledges the strides we have made over the past four weeks. And that brings us nearer the day when most Americans will be out from under house arrest.