JF

THREAD: On #Coronavirus, we may be entering a period of accelerating cases. The country could look very different over next two weeks. We’ll get through this, but need to take steps now to limit the scope and impact of virus. There are things we can do now to help ourselves. 1/n

2/n In last 10 days Italy diagnosed 95% of total cases they now report; South Korea 85%. 2 weeks ago, Italy had just 9 cases. 7 weeks ago, China reported 50 cases. The point: once the epidemics are discovered, they’ve been underway. Case counts grow quickly. Same likely true here

3/n What should we do now? Moving quickly and aggressively to mitigate spread, reduce the scope of the epidemic here, continue to ready the healthcare system, work with cities and states to develop a uniform, systematic response; provide financial assistance to help these efforts

4/n Mitigation: The goal is to reduce the number of cases at the peak of the epidemic. This extends the length of the epidemic, but can push the total number of cases at any one time below the point where the healthcare system gets exhausted, improving outcomes for patients.

5/n We need a uniform and timely approach to mitigation and social distancing that local, state officials can follow and clear set of principles on when to adopt the measures. School closures, event cancellations, other aggressive steps need to be implemented now in certain areas

6/n We must support affected cities, states with financial assistance. The feds must strongly encourage states and cities that have outbreaks to take mitigation steps to help protect nation. But localities that take on these burdens should be compensated for hardships they incur