When President Donald Trump was giving his daily coronavirus briefings, the prevailing phrase that was repeatedly mentioned was that we needed to work hard to “flatten the curve.” By now, you’re probably familiar with what that means. Flattening the curve is a term that suggests that while we may not be able to stop a large portion of the population from contracting the coronavirus, we need to limit potential exposures so that a huge influx doesn’t become ill all at once. Failing to do so could overload the hospital system and leave people unable to have access to necessary medical supplies, like ventilators and beds.
The Curve Isn’t Dropping Like Other Countries
The majority of the United States has done a good job at flattening the curve, in that most hospital systems have not become overburdened by patients who have contracted the virus. However, the latest data suggests that while we’ve flattened the curve, we’re not experiencing the drop off in cases like many other nations who have also sought to flatten the curve and reduce the number of new cases.
This chart shows the reported number of new and total cases, along with the death totals in the Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States. Clearly, we’re doing something wrong.
You can argue that our reporting measures are better, that we’re testing more patients or that we’re simply a bigger nation, but that still doesn’t explain the monumental differences between new case development. It seems likely that our lag in our willingness to wear masks out in public played a role in why our curve looks so different from the others.
Earlier this week, the US Surgeon General announced that masks help to promote freedom, but it shouldn’t have taken until mid-June for this sentiment to be championed at the highest level and understood by the masses. Masks help to stop the spread when we must travel to public places like grocery stores. It’s such a simple move that has been better adopted in other countries, and it’s likely why we’re not seeing the success they have had in controlling the virus.
With the weather only getting nicer, it seems likely that Americans will continue to go about their business with one another. Hopefully more of them adopt masks in these public places, otherwise our coronavirus chart is unlikely to change much.