The U.S. Has Flattened the Curve. Next Up Is ‘Squashing’ It — and That’s Not Going Well
April 27, 2020 / BY CHRIS WILSON
At the end of every day, I download the latest figures on new COVID-19 infections around the world and across the country. It takes about 60 seconds for the code I wrote to fetch the data, clean up the formatting, and generate day-by-day charts below for 10 countries and all 50 states and Washington, D.C., where I live. Reading those charts answers one question: Was today better than yesterday?
Here’s where we stand at the moment. To return to the national view after selecting a state, click “Clear.”
The national picture is highly instructive. While the country as a whole has successfully flattened the curve, it has yet to show the extended period of decline necessary to declare ourselves out of the woods — a “squashing” of the curve. The same applies to most states. While a small number have sustained a long squashing period, most are still rising and falling day by day.
