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"Flatten the Curve" : Why and How?
What is "Flatten the Curve"
We have seen the phrase "Flatten the Curve" a lot during the pandemic. What does it mean?
According to the SEIR model, the population exposed to, and infected by the virus will gradually grow, showing as the curve climbing. And then, as people get treatments and recovered, the curve falls, which makes a bell-shaped line.
However, if no proper measures were taken, the curve will grow too rapidly to be handled by the public healthcare system, which could lead to more death and disastrous result. That's why we emphasize on the importance of "Flatten the Curve."
On the right, you can play with the SLIDER to reduce R0, to see how the number of exposed and infected people change.
Play with the slider to discover the change
How to "Flatten the Curve"? aka. Reduce R0?
The R0 is decided by the characteristics of the infectious disease, the environment as well as the population.
For example, humid and hot weather makes the virus less active; younger people are less likely to be infected; lower population density slows down the spread of the disease.
Three factors determines the R0 in a certain region in a specific time period: infectious period; contact rate and mode of transmission.
To control the disease, we reduce R0 with measures focusing on each of these aspects:
To reduce contact rate, government interventions such as lock down and social distancing play an important role.
Regarding the mode of transmission (i.e. droplets), we need to wear masks and wash hands frequently.
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