ARTICLE
Over the past few weeks many states have begun reopening following months of required social isolation and government mandated business closures. However, we must keep the situation in perspective in order to avoid complacency. The graph below depicts the daily count of new cases in the United States. As you can see, after the initial spike in cases, the total number of new cases had pretty much remained flat. This is a positive because it shows that the steps taken to limit the spread of the virus have worked. However, the number of new cases has not greatly declined -- in fact, we've just seen the 7-day average at its highest point since May 24 -- which means that even though the virus may be currently under control, if reopening is treated as a return to normalcy then the curve could resume an upward trend. As we are all aware, the northeast was the hardest hit area during the initial surge in cases of COVID-19. This is likely due to high population density as well as a steady stream of international travelers ensuring the disease was widely distributed before safety precautions had been implemented. As a result, places like New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts became epicenters for the disease. Additional data provided by The COVID Tracking Project shows that the northeast region has been responsible for the greatest decline in daily cases while the south and west are actually seeing an increase in new cases. This means that we must remain vigilent in order to keep the disease under control and that our hard won gains can't let us lose sight of the need for continued precautions.