Honestly this is spreading faster than any viral infection in modern history. We went from 10 cases to 300 cases in the US within a span of 6 days and the crazy thing is that it's in ALL parts of the USA, from Hawaii, to the midwest, west, northeast and the south.
This is just a consequence of the detection apparatus coming online so late.
The virus came here in January. It has been spreading throughout the country since then. Because of the administration's testing guidelines, we simply weren't looking for it.
There aren't suddenly new infections. There are existing infections that we're now made aware of, likely too late to track and contain (so the virus will just do its thing, and we'll cope as best we can).
And the death rate is likely lower than estimates precisely because we've only been looking for it in very specific subsections of the populace (and it will remain this way, as only the most symptomatic will be qualified for testing, which we still have limited ability to perform even now). But it's still a major concern because a significant number of the infected will likely require treatment, which means hospitalization, which is something that most counties are wholly unequipped to handle. Rooms and supplies will run out, personnel will get sick or be stretched too thin.
Everyone who engages in nonessential travel and large gatherings at this point is being incredibly irresponsible. Even if you don't think you are at risk of serious consequences, catching the disease and spreading it only amplifies the epidemic.
