Differing death tolls in California and Louisiana hint at the urgency to 'flatten the curve'
In California and Louisiana, two of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus, the difference of a handful of days is starting to show just how important social distancing has been to limiting the spread of the pandemic.
On March 23, Louisiana surpassed California in total dead from the coronavirus even though California has more than eight times as many residents. That gap continues to widen.
The two states have instituted increasingly restrictive measures and are among the 23 states with stay-at-home orders. Both states are led by Democratic governors who have earned praise from President Donald Trump for their response to the crisis.
The disease is still spreading in both states, and the number of new cases and deaths reported each day is still climbing. But California is closer to "flattening the curve" — meaning slowing the pace, so that the the number of new cases and deaths each day stops accelerating, then is no higher than the day before (or "flat"
, and then, ultimately, lower day by day.
In the past week, California has seen its rate of daily increase in total deaths slow down, while the increase in daily deaths in Louisiana has accelerated.
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