5 things states must do to curb the spread of COVID-19: ANALYSIS

The dreaded fall and winter COVID-19 wave has arrived and with a vengeance. Much of the nation is experiencing a viral load of infections unlike those previously seen since the start of the pandemic.

Any one metric by itself doesn't fully relay the significance of the threat, but coupling it with multiple metrics, like the number of daily new cases, percent positivity rate, infection rate, hospitalization rate and deaths, provide a more complete burden of the illness.

There are 50 epidemics playing out in the United States, each state with its own trajectory and prognosis. Only two states, Maine and Vermont, are trending in the right direction, having control on their epidemic, the remaining 48 states are all trending in the wrong direction.

To curb the spread of COVID-19, these are five measures that must be taken to prevent further amplification of cases, illnesses, hospitalizations and death.