DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - There's no telling when Illinois or the U.S. as a whole, will reopen and move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic.
One country in Europe is already in motion while the virus is rampant.
Stores, restaurants, bars and schools are open in Sweden. While the U.S. is focusing on slowing the spread of the virus by staying home, Sweden's health officials believe it can slow the spread by contracting the virus.
In an interview with NBC, Dr. Anders Tegnell said the virus won't go away.
"We need to deal with the virus in a substantial way," Dr. Tegnell said. "We can't keep the school's closed forever."
This approach is called 'heard immunity'. This theory is about limiting the spread of an infectious disease when most of the population is immune. Health experts said this can be achieved by getting vaccinated or contracting the disease. Click here to look at model of how herd immunity works.
Heard Immunity in Illinois
Records show 12.7 million people live in Illinois. At last check, the Illinois Department of Public Health showcased more than 48,000 positive cases of COVID-19.
Illinois is no where near to being able to apply heard immunity, with .4 percent. A total of 7.6 million Illinoisans would have to be infected with COVID-19. Since it can take up to 18 months to create a vaccine, Governor JB Pritkzer is not on board with the latter.
"You overwhelm your health care system and more people die," the governor said. ''A lot of people can die."
For now, the focus in Illinois is bending the curve by staying at home.
