Americans act to flatten the Coronavirus epidemic curve...
[reason.com]epidemic-curve/

The COVID-19 epidemic can no longer be contained. The good news is that Americans, acting as free and responsible individuals, are already making changes in their personal lives that will likely mitigate the effects of the disease.

Since the epidemic is inevitable, the best strategy for coping with it is to flatten the curve—that is, to adopt measures that slow down the rate of infection. The number of people eventually infected will not necessarily be lower, but the goal is spread out the infections over time in order to avoid overtaxing the health care system with a flood of cases.