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What started as an isolated disease in Wuhan, China has now grown into a global problem. The World Health Organization declared it a Pandemic. Italy is experiencing what we fear most – a run on hospital capacity.
Global governments hope to flatten the infection curve and slow the spread of the disease, buying critical time to prepare. Growth in confirmed cases is seen as the crucial metric for success.
Our matrix takes publicly available information of confirmed cases by country and constructs boxes for each of them proportional to the global cases, which currently sits at over 179,111.
Current Status
- The number of new daily cases in China has slowed under extremely restrictive measures, dropping from several thousand a day to less than a dozen.
- Italy’s cases jumped from 1,128 to 27,980 in a matter of weeks, placing strain on their hospital system and supplies
- U.S. cases remain low at 3,503 but are likely understated due to lack of testing
- New case growth appears to be moving from Asia to Western Europe and North America as China’s new cases only grew by 1,148, whereas countries like Italy, Spain, Germany, and the U.S. have seen double or more.
- South Korea’s a notable exception that used extensive testing and transparent information to slow the spread of the disease, only adding 4,584 cases in the last few weeks.
We’ve entered a critical time across the world where social distancing and isolation become paramount to our success. The likelihood is this pandemic will be with us for several months to years.
Stay safe and healthy!