Contact reduction measures, comprising social distancing and the isolation of cases, can be an effective part of mitigation strategies; they have the advantage over antiviral treatment to be not limited per se, i.e. they can be continued for a sufficiently long period of time. Figure 4 examines the effect of isolation of cases and social distancing measures (see figure caption for details) in the absence of antiviral treatment. The peak of the epidemic is protracted by about 1 day for every percent of contact reduction if this intervention starts immediately after the introduction of the infection. Thus, a peak shift is not only possible by early action, but also by the degree of contact reduction. If contact reduction is initiated later, the peak shift diminishes, but the proportionality remains. For example, if the intervention starts three weeks after the introduction of infection, the peak of the epidemic is only mitigated by about half a day per 1% contact reduction ( Figure 4B ). Premature cessation of contact reduction measures restores the infection rates to the pre-intervention values which fuels the epidemic. It can lead to a delayed course and a higher total number of infections, involving a plateau or even a second peak of the epidemic ( Figure 4C ).