Fig. 4: Affordability of the best way-out scenario.

a–c, LET strategy with 50% detection and 40% tracing. a, Fraction of the population that needs to be put under quarantine as a function of time and percentage of contact tracing. b, Health status of the individuals that are quarantined for a contact-tracing level of 40%. Note that only symptomatic individuals are tested, which implies that a large fraction of the quarantined population is of unknown status. This fraction of individuals quarantined with unknown health conditions could be reduced if the capacity to test increases. The pandemic might span over several months depending on the level of contact tracing. c, Number of individuals whose contacts are traced each day, per 1,000 people. Relevant intervention actions are signalled by vertical dashed lines in all panels. x-axes show dates in 2020 (20) and 2021 (21). Jan, January.