[4] As described in an article in The Nation, "preventing a health care system from being overwhelmed requires a society to do two things: 'flatten the curve'that is, slow the rate of infection so there aren't too many cases that need hospitalization at one timeand 'raise the line'that is, boost the hospital system's capacity to treat large numbers of patients. But with slow distribution,huge demand and low supply, it hasn't been the panacea many dreamed. In fact, top U.S. health officials were urging Americans not to buy masks at the end of February in a bid to preserve supply for health-care providers. "You know that famous phrase the cure is worse than the disease that is exactly the territory we are hurtling towards," Hilton said. Politicians gamble to agree on strategies that show less numbers. "If everyone makes this change or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus and we're going to have a big celebration all together," Trump said at a White House press briefing on March 16, 2020, where he also announced the first vaccine candidate entering phase 1 clinical trials. To see how it played out, we can look at two U.S. cities Philadelphia and St. Louis Drew Harris, a population health researcher at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, told NPR.org. But on Sunday morning, immunologist Anthony Fauci, one of Trump's top advisers on the crisis, went on television and said 100,000 to 200,000 Americans could die from the virus. Countries are restricting travel to contain the virus. That two weeks to flatten the curve turned into six weeks, which turned into 20 weeks, then 40 weeks and then 52 weeks. At the time, as city and state officials rushed to implement restrictions to curb the outbreak. "If you think of our health care system as a subway car and it's rush hour and everybody wants to get on the car once, they start piling up at the door," says Drew Harris, a population health researcher at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images "The hospital systems I think operated in good faith and just tried to make the best decisions we could with the information we had.". A week later, the floor shut down because of the virus, and trade moved fully to electronic systems. "People are talking about July, August, something like that," Trump said. Thirteen people with the virus died at the hospital in a 24-hour span the day earlier. After a year of staying home, social distancing and washing their hands, people are hitting a wall. "I mean, I was presiding over the most successful economy in the history of the world. NASA warns of 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids headed toward Earth this week. Italy has been under a nationwide lockdown for about four weeks and the country has begun to flatten the curve. This has never happened before.' Though public-health officials view social distancing as a necessary measure to contain the outbreak, work-from-home and no-travel rules are already having a profound effect on the national economy. It was rough, my kids are social, but we had to be careful.". "All of these lessons are going to be extremely helpful as we move into 2021.". ", "I cannot see that all of a sudden, next week or two weeks from now, it's going to be over," he said in an interview with the Today show. The city, now known for its towering Gateway Arch, had successfully flattened the curve. Theater stages remain dark. She's excited and nervous to receive her first dose of vaccine soon. That lack of information was a big problem. Thirteen people with the virus died at the hospital in a 24-hour span the day earlier. That petrified Arden Vernacchio and her daughter, Emily Snyder. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. From the start, there were questions of what would happen after 15 days, whether the push for what public health officials call social distancing would become the new normal. So, you know, we're relying on them," he said. Within two days of the first reported cases, the city quickly moved to social isolation strategies, according to a 2007 analysis. All rights reserved (About Us). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that people who had recently tested positive were about twice as likely to have reported dining at a restaurant than were those with negative test results. "It's surprising howmuch the kids react to us even though the masks," said Randle, 32, of York. "We saw the full magnitude of it hit us and it was something we haven't really experienced certainly in our lifetimes.". In the spring of 2020, as Covid-19 was beginning to take its awful toll in the United States, three words offered a glimmer of hope: flatten the curve. By March 25, his hometown, New York City, had the most cases and most new cases, and his health experts were telling people who left the area that they needed to self-isolate for two weeks, lest they spread it further. That so-and-so Anthony Fauci started this "two . [4] Raising the line aims to provide adequate medical equipment and supplies for more patients. Shutting down the state closing schools, shuttering nonessential businesses andstaying home to stay safe would help slow the spread of the fast-moving virus. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci holds up the "15 Days to Slow the Spread" instruction as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a news briefing on the latest development of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. at the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House March 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. But eight days after the plan came out, the US continues to witness dramatic daily spikes in coronavirus cases. She added that early on, officials should have acted more swiftly when cases were detected to prevent spread through the closure of businesses. native advertising That particularly was detrimental to trust in the system that was trying to overcome the worst pandemic in a century. Curve shows no cases or deaths outside these two groups and lies below the system capacity. Former President Trump announced his "15 days to slow the spread" campaign one year ago, which urged Americans to stay home to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Public schools are closing, universities are holding classes online, major events are getting canceled, and cultural institutions are shutting their doors. 2 Weeks to Flatten the Curve. As the end of the 15 days drew closer, the United States became the nation with the most reported cases of the virus, surpassing China. The preschool where she taught shut its doors. On a broader scale, COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. (after heart disease and cancer). AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO! I said, 'Are you serious about this?' ", Cleaners sanitize the lectern in the White House briefing room after a coronavirus briefing on March 16, the day Trump announced his 15-day guidelines. "There were two key elements in our scientific knowledge that we didn't fully understand. Typically, the first was associated with no lockdowns that peaked well above the capacity of the health-care system, while the second, "flattened" curve was associated with lockdowns with its. The U.S. Stay home for 15 days, he told Americans. After two Pennsylvanians testing positive for the virus swiftly turned into hundreds, public health officials were adamant. Here's what you need to know about the curve, and why we want to flatten it. September:The school year opens with a mix of plans to keep children and teachers safe, ranging from in-person classes to remote schooling to hybrid models. Research has shown that the faster authorities moved to implement the kinds of social . On March 16, 2020, the Trump administration released a 15-day plan to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the US. July:The pandemic is causing an uptick in mental health issues as job losses continue to soar, parents juggle working at home with caring for or homeschooling children, and young adults grow frustrated by isolation from friends and limited job prospects. If things are tougher, then there will be a different set of decisions that have to be made. The lockdown in Wuhan, China, for instance, lasted for two months before authorities began to ease restrictions including letting some people to return to work if they could certify that they were in good health. Drew Angerer/Getty Images "Unfortunately, it's not. ET Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. There's just not enough room in the car to take care of everybody, to accommodate everybody. Legitimate disagreement within the scientific community is common, but perhaps never before has the debate played out so publicly or with such high stakes. [12] One major public health management challenge is to keep the epidemic wave of incoming patients needing material and human health care resources supplied in a sufficient amount that is considered medically justified. "I think that's where federal leadership fell short because on the national stage, we had the former president downplaying the importance, where on the front lines, we were seeing a different picture.". [4] Elective procedures can be cancelled to free equipment and staffs. It just can't handle it, and people wind up not getting services that they need.". YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Parents have been forced to choosebetween Zoom classes and plexiglass-divided seatingin the classroom. At that point, there were more than 3,000 confirmed cases of the virus, and more than 60 deaths. We need to stick with current strategies. A former critical care nurse, she's worked through H1N1 and other pandemics. These two curves have already played out in the U.S. in an earlier age during the 1918 flu pandemic. Tom Wolf talked about how it was our civic duty to lockdown and fight this virus to protect others. "In some sense, even though it's been a year, none of us have moved on with our lives.". During an epidemic, a health care system can break down when the number of people infected exceeds the capability of the health care system's ability to take care of them. Wen, who is also anemergencyphysicianand public health professor at George Washington University, noted it wasn't just politicians, but also scientists, who didn't understand how to fight the virus. That was itsown learning curve, she said. "If he does a good job, he'll deserve and win reelection. "People are still getting sick every day. "Seriously people STOP BUYING MASKS!" It's also changed the way of life for everyone. But she misses normal occasional trips with her sister, dinners out with her husband and family. Lifting social distancing measures prematurely, while cases continue to increase or remain at high levels, could result in a resurgence of new cases. Stephen Moore speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28 before health officials shut down large gatherings because of the coronavirus. It's all part of an effort to do what epidemiologists call flattening the curve of the pandemic. The curve peaked in mid-April, but that peak itself was nowhere near overwhelming. "Two weeks to flatten the curve" we were told. The White House Covid task force aggressively promoted this line, as did the news media and much of the epidemiology . [16] Vox encourages building up health care capability including mass testing, software and infrastructures to trace and quarantine infected people, and scaling up cares including by resolving shortages in personal protection equipment, face masks. This is a new method that protect elderly and let young fight virus on their own without healthcare support. Before the pandemic, Trump had staked his reelection campaign on the strength of the economy. The UK reports that a new variant of the virus, called B.1.1.7, could be more contagious. Shouldn't they have seen it coming? [17] Edlin called for an activation of the Defense Production Act to order manufacturing companies to produce the needed sanitizers, personal protective equipment, ventilators, and set up hundreds thousands to millions required hospital beds. More than 100 million people around the world have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 2.5 million people have died of the disease. "I think there's a collective sigh of relief and appreciation for the decision that was made tonight.". Birx, who left the CDC last week and took a couple of private sector positions, said the discussion around early Covid policy was not so simple as science vs. politics. "I don't think there's a chance of that.". "Within 48, 72 hours, thousands of people around the Philadelphia region started to die," Harris said.