Residents in Washington, D.C., could be months away from witnessing a coronavirus peak, according to Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser.
As states such as New York and New Jersey start to see coronavirus cases level off, Bowser said that modeling for the Washington, D.C.-area doesn’t project a peak until June. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Bowser explained that shelter-in-place guidelines might be in place for several more months.
“We are getting prepared, and we, like all cities and states around the country, are looking at various models to see what they tell us about when our medical surge will happen. And we expect that that could happen in Washington, D.C., in June,” Bowser explained. “Our residents are doing everything that we ask so that we can push down the number of peak cases and push out when that surge would happen in D.C.”
Bowser explained that effective social distancing might be the reason D.C. has a delayed peak. She said all data points to a surge occurring in June.
“We think that all of the interventions that we put in place very aggressively in the early part of March — closing our schools, shutting down our bars and restaurants, closing essential businesses in Washington, D.C. — has pushed out when the peak might occur,” Bowser explained.
She added, “We see that in a number that there are cities who are experiencing a surge in cases and hospitalizations now, and we know, and we see from what we see on the ground and testing that show that our peak will come later.”
As of Sunday morning, Washington, D.C., had nearly 1,800 cases of the coronavirus and 47 related deaths.
