News Room

Assistant Professor of Public Policy Soroush Saghafian, whose academic interests include applying operations research methods to health care management, has been working with the government of Bahrain to analyze the effectiveness of policies to address the coronavirus. Saghafian, who is a faculty affiliate of the Harvard PhD program in health policy and the Harvard Center for Health Decision Science, cautions that no one policy is best in all cases—and that governments must weigh cost and quality of life considerations. However, he says that closing businesses like cinemas and gyms for four months could be one of the most low-cost and effective measures. Saghafian shared analysis that he and his former PhD student (now an assistant professor of statistics and family medicine at Michigan State University) Alireza Boloori conducted in an HKS faculty working paper, “COVID-19: What Intervention Policies Are Most Effective? A Brief Report Using Data from Government of Bahrain.”

David Simchi-Levi, professor of engineering systems at MIT, talks about what’s next for supply chains, as the U.S. looks to reopen businesses after the coronavirus quarantine.

Now that Gov. Phil Murphy has reopened the Jersey Shore for the Memorial Day holiday, will the crowds come? Experts and a poll said people are more likely to drive to the beach at Belmar than fly to French riviera. Another temptation to get them out of the house are lower than normal gas prices. But it will be a gradual transition from coronavirus staycation to vacation.

The world was waiting for any sign of hope in countering the COVID-19 pandemic when researchers released the first encouraging drips of data from a large clinical trial of the antiviral remdesivir last month. The drug, they said, reduced the time to recovery from COVID-19 by a few days — not enough to be branded a ‘cure’, but hopefully enough to relieve some pressure on overwhelmed health-care systems.

As states ease their restrictions, nonprofit leaders at all levels face some unsettling questions. Have we reached a point where we can safely open our doors? Is the virus sufficiently under control, and are we convinced we will not be adding unnecessary contagion opportunities by resuming “normal” operations? Do we trust that those who are making decisions and guiding the reopening process at the federal, state, and local levels are always making wise decisions?