“Moreover, virus spread cannot be effectively controlled if it passes a certain level.
“Therefore, an earlier removal of measures may work out in the end, if we are lucky, but it will be associated with a higher risk that severe, general restrictions need to be re-introduced.
“A higher level of COVID-19 spread provides the virus with more opportunities to form escape variants that are not covered by pre-existing immunity due to vaccination or previous infections and, hence, undo our previous efforts.
“Scientifically, the best strategy is to only remove restrictions when the infection numbers are very low.
“Other strategies are always associated with an enhanced risk that the pandemic spirals out of control again.”
