UNDERSTANDING FLATTENING THE CURVE (SIMPLIFIED)

“Flatten the curve” is a rallying call for social distancing amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

What curve? What does it mean? Why is flattening important?

In a nutshell, the curve refers to the number of patients infected with the novel coronavirus over time as seen in the chart above.

The ideal goal in fighting pandemic would be to completely halt the spread. For now, slowing down the spread— mitigation — is critical. This reduces the number of cases that are active at any given time, which in turn gives doctors, hospitals, police, schools and vaccine-manufacturers adequate time to prepare and respond, without becoming overwhelmed. Thus Flattening the curve simply refers to keeping the number of patients requiring health care low, so that our healthcare system is not overwhelmed.

Staying at home and practicing social distancing are two ways to help flatten the curve. Staying at home is self-explanatory but Social distancing is a public health tactic that helps communities slow down the transmission and spread of contagious illnesses like the coronavirus.” This chart above shows why slowing the spread of the infection is nearly as important as stopping it, thus without protective measures the number of cases would increase and the health care system capacity would not be able to handle all cases leading to death and lack of containment.

The Power Tower Kenya seeks to promote local and global awareness and understanding of COVID-19, and will continue to support data-driven recommendations made by all States and Governments and International agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

Communications Department: Contact: thepowertowerke@gmail.com