As people around the world try to understand and protect themselves from the coronavirus COVID-19, a simple chart graph has gone viral—and it’s been praised for shedding some light on the scale and speed of the outbreak.
The “flattening the curve” chart illustrates the wave of new coronavirus cases expected to hit. A high curve means the virus is spreading quickly; some people won’t get the medical care they need, and the number of deaths is likely to increase. A low curve means coronavirus is spreading slowly, which gives doctors the time and resources to treat more people (and hopefully save more lives).
Medical professionals and public health experts are being called on to help ‘flatten the curve’ in the chart graph to stagger the rate of coronavirus cases, so hospitals will be able to treat everyone who gets it or needs to be tested.
The smoothness of the curve could be the difference between treating the disease and health care providers struggling to cope with the demand for help. It summarises the importance of taking measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Ultimately, what flattening the curve does is remind us what the World Health Organization has been saying for months: wash your hands (frequently and properly), catch coughs and sneezes in tissues, and stay home. You might think these measures are simply putting off the inevitable, but they’ll make the world of difference to the bigger picture.