There are essentially three ways out of this mess;

vaccination

enough people develop immunity through infection

or permanently change our behaviour/society

Each of these routes would reduce the ability of the virus to spread.

Vaccines - at least 12-18 months away

A vaccine should give someone immunity so they do not become sick if they are exposed.
Immunise enough people, about 60% of the population, and the virus cannot cause outbreaks - the concept known as herd immunity.
The first person was given an experimental vaccine in the US this week after researchers were allowed to skip the usual rules of performing animal tests first.
Vaccine research is taking place at unprecedented speed, but there is no guarantee it will be successful and will require immunisation on a global scale.
The best guess is a vaccine could still be 12 to 18-months away if everything goes smoothly. That is a long time to wait when facing unprecedented social restrictions during peacetime.
"Waiting for a vaccine should not be honoured with the name 'strategy', that is not a strategy," Prof Woolhouse said.