One of the reasons why you're seeing differences in when various entities are closing down is that no central authority really exists outside the state to mandate such a thing. The state itself doesn't have enough real data to understand the situation (thanks to lack of tests), and so it's up to the local entities to determine when things are going to get bad.
The exponential increase in cases compounded by the fact that most transmission occurs within the first five days of symptoms (before you really start feeling it) means that most transmission occurs before you know you're infected. Shutting down everything is painful on many levels, but it's the only real way to check the spread before it overwhelms our local healthcare systems.
At one hospital in nearby, there is no mandatory PPE protocol in place for suspected C19 patients (because they'd run out of PPE really quickly with the current numbers). However, one confirmed positive C19 patient did end up coming through that hospital ER (probably admitted), and suddenly over half the respiratory therapists on staff are in mandatory quarantine, as are several of the physicians/nurses for being in contact with a known case. We're not even to the point where C19 is widespread, and half the RT staff is out of commission...
Oh, and there are reports of medical staff just not showing up to work or calling in for fear that they'll be exposed and then have to self-quarantine. I can see this happening with single mothers or sole breadwinners...it's not a great choice. And again, this leaves hospitals short-staffed, decreasing quality of care and reducing the likelihood that patients will survive.
We as a society must do everything to ensure that we don't become a patient. Take care of the allied healthcare providers you know. If not already, they will soon be put to the test.
The exponential increase in cases compounded by the fact that most transmission occurs within the first five days of symptoms (before you really start feeling it) means that most transmission occurs before you know you're infected. Shutting down everything is painful on many levels, but it's the only real way to check the spread before it overwhelms our local healthcare systems.
At one hospital in nearby, there is no mandatory PPE protocol in place for suspected C19 patients (because they'd run out of PPE really quickly with the current numbers). However, one confirmed positive C19 patient did end up coming through that hospital ER (probably admitted), and suddenly over half the respiratory therapists on staff are in mandatory quarantine, as are several of the physicians/nurses for being in contact with a known case. We're not even to the point where C19 is widespread, and half the RT staff is out of commission...
Oh, and there are reports of medical staff just not showing up to work or calling in for fear that they'll be exposed and then have to self-quarantine. I can see this happening with single mothers or sole breadwinners...it's not a great choice. And again, this leaves hospitals short-staffed, decreasing quality of care and reducing the likelihood that patients will survive.
We as a society must do everything to ensure that we don't become a patient. Take care of the allied healthcare providers you know. If not already, they will soon be put to the test.