By March 4, California had reported 53 confirmed cases of COVAD-19 while New York had reported 11 cases. At the time, there had been one coronavirus-related death in California and none in New York. Fast-forward to the March 26 death count*. California: 65. New York: 365. Why did New York spiral out of control? I don’t know. However, one factor in their diverging trends may be that California responded sooner and more aggressively than New York to the spreading pandemic. Take a look:
Now, New York:
California’s quicker response appears to have “flattened the curve” of the pandemic. Then again, there’s no US city as tightly packed as New York City - and density favors contagion. Still, San Francisco is also a pretty crowded place. And as of today, March 27, San Francisco’s coronavirus death toll has reached just 3, while New York City has confirmed 366 coronavirus deaths. This is a huge difference in absolute and per capita mortality. The Bay Area’s earlier school closings and shelter-in-place order might very well have saved a lot of lives.
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Last update: 3/27/20.
* The 3/26 COVAD-19 data that I accessed (at https://covidtracking.com/data/) covered through 3/25 for California but included 3/26 data for New York.