corona scale

Phase II - The Impact

76 OF 94 Coronavirus IMPACT flags thrown - Updated: 5/3/2020

Corona Scale tracks actions and outcomes that collectively determine the seriousness of Coronavirus / COVID-19 in the US. All 18 flags from Phase 1 were thrown in Jan-Feb 2020, tracking the coming pandemic. This page (Phase 2) tracks the Coronavirus-related actions and impact in the US. Phase 3 tracks the recovery.

Recovery progress! See Phase 3 recovery tracking.

healthcare (9)

  • Care rationing - groups of people ignored and left to fend for themselves (confirmed 4/4 - NYC Cardiac Arrest Sufferers and NYC)
  • Government aggressively growing healthcare capacity (confirmed - hospital ships)
  • Healthcare practitioners posting China and Italy-like stories about how bad it is here in the US (confirmed 3/26 - NYC)
  • Hospitals overflowing and turning away patients (confirmed - NYC)
  • Hospitals/doctors give up on testing prospective Coronavirus patients (confirmed 3/21 - Los Angeles and multiple cities and states)
  • Tent hospitals deployed to treat Coronavirus patients (confirmed 3/26 - NYC)
  • Quarantine centers deployed to hold Coronavirus patients (confirmed 3/21 - Javits Center NYC)
  • Widespread shortage of protective equipment for healthcare workers (confirmed 4/1 - Multiple locations)
  • Widespread shortage of ventilators (confirmed 3/26 - NYC)

government (40)

  • Government closes down road access to cities (confirmed 5/3 - New Mexico)
  • 40 States issue stay at home orders (confirmed 4/4 - Map)
  • All 50 states under disaster declaration (confirmed 4/14 - USA)
  • Canadian border closed
  • Citizens arrested for violating stay-in-place order (confirmed 3/28 - Hawaii)
  • Government bans blowing leaves (confirmed 4/12 - NY, NJ)
  • Government bans travel between residences (confirmed 4/10 - Michigan)
  • Government checkpoints implemented (confirmed 3/28 - multiple states)
  • Government commandeers medical supplies from private citizens and businesses (confirmed 4/3 - New Jersey)
  • Government drone-based monitoring to enforce shelter-in-place order (confirmed 3/23 – California)
  • Government Emergency Broadcast System invoked (confirmed 3/29 - New Mexico
  • Government forces citizen to remove personal social media posts about Coronavirus (confirmed 4/18 - Wisconsin)
  • Government implements community Coronavirus-positive citizen tracking collective (confirmed 4/4 - Massachussets)
  • Government mandates business employees wear masks (confirmed 4/18 - Pennsylvania)
  • Government mandates citizens wear masks under penalty of severe fines (confirmed 4/3 - Laredo, Texas)
  • Government mandates Coronavirus-related public walking patterns (with fines) (confirmed 4/10 - Boston)
  • Government-ordered Curfew (confirmed - Hoboken, NJ)
  • Government orders Coronavirus-positive citizens to isolate and wear monitoring devices (confirmed 4/4 - Louisville)
  • Government providing food and supplies to citizens due to Coronavirus (confirmed 3/28 - multiple states)
  • Government requests citizen reporting on social distancing violations (confirmed 4/18 - New York City)
  • Government testing temperatures for everyone entering government facilities (confirmed 4/10 - Santa Rosa, CA)
  • Local roads or highways closed (confirmed 3/26 - Maui, Hawaii)
  • Mexican border closed by US or Mexico
  • Municipalities threaten arrest and imprisonment for visiting them (confirmed 4/7 - Colorado)
  • Other countries send aid to the US (confirmed 4/1/ - Russia)
  • Police pull over citizens in cars with out of state tags, with no probable cause (confirmed 4/4 - Delaware)
  • Police stop enforcing certain laws / do not make arrests for low-level crimes (confirmed 3/23 – Philadelphia and other municipalities)
  • Senior Government officials diagnosed with Coronavirus (confirmed - multiple members of Congress)
  • "Stay in place" order for at least 500,000 people (confirmed - multiple cities and states)
  • Supreme Court suspends activity (confirmed 4/3)
  • Suspension of civil liberties (confirmed - Champaign, IL by decree)
  • Suspension of elections (confirmed - multiple democratic state primary elections)
  • Suspension of individual tax payments (confirmed - now Jul 15)
  • Suspension of mortgage payments
  • Whole-state quarantine (confirmed - California, New York, Illinois)
  • Government stops sharing Coronavirus statistics
  • Martial law (at any scale)
  • UN Abandoned in NYC
  • Washington DC shut down (US Capital)
  • Widespread public flash testing of people’s temperatures

impact (36)

  • 50,000 Coronavirus deaths in the US (confirmed 5/1 - current)
  • Funeral homes overwhelmed by Coronavirus deaths (confirmed 4/30 - NYC)
  • Retail workers work in plastic containment tents (confirmed 4/30 - Philadelphia)
  • 100 Coronavirus deaths in a day in the US (confirmed 3/23)
  • 1,000 total Coronavirus deaths in the US (confirmed 3/26)
  • 1,000 total Coronavirus deaths per day in the US (confirmed 4/4)
  • 10,000 Coronavirus deaths in the US (confirmed 4/7)
  • 2,000 total Coronavirus deaths per day in the US (confirmed 4/10)
  • 25,000 Coronavirus deaths in the US (confirmed - 4/14)
  • 5,000 Coronavirus deaths in the US (confirmed 4/3)
  • A US airline ceases operation due to Coronavirus (confirmed 4/4 - multiple)
  • Aliens leaving the US go back to/through Mexico (confirmed 4/10 - multiple)
  • Coronavirus infections in all 50 states
  • Coronavirus infections in the US military (confirmed - 67 as of 3/20)
  • Coronavirus-related crime - widespread attacks on homes and businesses (Chicago and San Francisco 4/10)
  • Large numbers of people locking down / self-isolating
  • Local barricading (confirmed 3/26 - Maui, Hawaii and others)
  • Local retail establishments close @ scale (not chains) (confirmed - 1,000+ restaurants, gyms, spas, etc.)
  • Mass closing of retails stores (temporary or permanent) (confirmed - Nike, Macys, many others)
  • Mass "flash" infections (confirmed 3/26 - 90+ residents in a NJ nursing home)
  • Numerous high profile celebrities get Coronavirus
  • Places of religious worship (churches, synagogues) closed (confirmed 3/29 - NYC and others)
  • Police forces debilitated by Coronavirus (confirmed 3/28 - Detroit and others)
  • Potent, concentrated and deadly clusters (e.g., homeless, prisons)
  • Private businesses run Coronavirus tests on their workers (confirmed 4/10)
  • Problems with processing/disposal of bodies (volume) (confirmed 3/26 - NYC)
  • Stock market drops 30% from its high (DJIA closes at or below 20,685 - chart)
  • Suspension of Funerals (confirmed 3/26 - Washington state)
  • Universities significantly modify their admissions standards due to Coronavirus (confirmed 4/7 - UNC)
  • Widespread Coronavirus infections in a correctional facility (confirmed 4/7 - Louisiana)
  • Widespread preparation for civil unrest (confirmed 4/3 - New York City)
  • Wild animals appearing in urban areas (confirmed 3/28 - San Francisco and others)
  • 100,000 Coronavirus deaths in the US (current)
  • Civil unrest (e.g., local riots)
  • Fallover deaths in public - people simply dropping and dying (pending 4/3 - NYC)
  • Private businesses run tests on its customers (pending)

infrastructure (6)

  • A major US airport shuts down (minor airport - temporary closure)
  • All international air travel to/from the US is shut down
  • All US domestic air travel is shut down
  • Local utilities fail (water, power, Internet, or mobile)
  • Significant communications breakdown (e.g., TV, mobile, news, etc.)
  • Stoppage of deliveries (e.g., Amazon, FedEx, UPS, USPS) - pending

personal (6)

  • A colleague is confirmed to have Coronavirus
  • A direct family member is confirmed to have Coronavirus
  • A friend is confirmed to have Coronavirus
  • A relative is confirmed to have Coronavirus
  • People need to tap into their emergency food
  • Someone you know has died because of Coronavirus