Today, the United States became the country with the most cases of COVID-19 in the world. A lot of people here in the Bay Area might have smirked, because until about two weeks ago, the reassurances from the White House were plentiful, while all planning was either absent or a blather of platitudes. But we all know that it’s no laughing matter. And while the numbers from China are difficult to verify, they could very well be much higher, and India is only beginning to experience this awful virus, for the United States, we are now entering a scenario health experts warned us about.

U.S. state coronavirus curves show many could be close behind New York – USA Today

“I don’t believe we’re going to be able to flatten the curve enough to meet the capacity of the health care system,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned (a few days ago)…

…many states, such as New Jersey, Colorado, Florida and Louisiana, are on a similar trajectory to New York already… (good to see that the West Coast, for the time-being, is significantly below that trajectory)

For the nation, if COVID-19 wasn’t real enough already, just you wait. We are entering the hot zone.

For California, and the San Francisco Bay Area specifically, what does this mean? More of the same. Just when we are possibly starting to see initial positive results from the stay at home order and a flattening of the infection curve, if we ease up now, an ugly alternative likely awaits.

We need to remind everyone to be even more conscious about washing hands and surfaces, staying at home as much as possible and when you do go out for food and supplies, social distance. More people here in the San Francisco Bay Area will get the virus, so this message has got to ring true; now more than ever.

Main image Credit: from Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracking website

Second image credit: Johns Hopkins University; WHO; CDC; USA TODAY

• Tag: covid-19, social distance, stay at home, wash hands