Illustration by Sam Whitney, CDC
As the number of COVID-19 cases increase, we all need to do our part to prevent it from spreading and flatten out the curve. The governor recently issued a statewide shutdown, showing us that this pandemic isn’t to be taken lightly. As a person in the Public Health field, I recognize that we wouldn’t need to take these drastic measures if it wasn’t absolutely necessary for the health and safety of our citizens.
Looking at a graph that has now gone viral, the high peak in a short amount of time represents what happened in Wuhan, China and now Italy. What the United States is trying to accomplish now is to “flatten the curve” — meaning a small peak over a longer course of time, so our healthcare system is not overwhelmed. In order to mitigate this pandemic, we all need to be proactive and implement drastic measures, and implement them early before it gets out of control. This would allow hospitals and healthcare workers to address the issues better since they won’t be at over capacity. It is paramount that these measures get implemented sooner rather than later because with each passing day, the number of cases may increase exponentially.
Although it may be uncomfortable and inconvenient at first, everyone should do their part to prevent the virus from spreading and flatten the curve. Wash your hands, stay home if sick, and practice social distancing. Social distancing decreases opportunities for transmission since people are interacting with each other less, and the virus has fewer opportunities to spread.
Though COVID-19 is so new and health experts are still learning about it, it appears that individuals may still be carriers even if they aren’t showing any symptoms. This makes it a bigger risk since others may potentially be exposed, particularly those who are more vulnerable and may not be able to recover.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance to be educated and do what we can to prevent this virus from spreading. The faster we implement these measures, the faster we can mitigate this pandemic and go back to our normal lives.
With every day, every hour, every minute, it is crucial to reduce the number of cases.
Remember, it takes an entire community to manage this and without your efforts, we won’t have a fighting chance. Stay safe, for you, for your loved ones, and for others.
— Frances Nguyen
Public Health professional
Sammamish, WA