Stephen Parodi, MD, shares California’s progress on flattening the curve with the Today Show

A recent NBC News segment on the Today Show highlighted new evidence that some states’ early warnings to stay home could be paying off.

The news segment notes that on March 16, California’s San Francisco Bay Area became the country’s first region to issue a stay-at-home order. As a result, doctors at some Northern California hospitals are seeing fewer COVID-19 cases than they expected.

“Really over the last week-and-a-half, we have seen a flattening of the curve,” said Stephen Parodi, MD, an infectious disease physician and associate executive director with The Permanente Medical Group in Northern California, in the March 31 NBC News segment.

In Seattle, early deaths at a suburban nursing home caused local officials and companies to sound the alarm at the end of February. On March 19, California became the first state to order its residents to stay at home.

As a result of such actions, Washington and California may see far fewer COVID-19-related deaths than other states through mid-April, predicted White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx, MD.

To view the news segment, visit Today.com.