A few small points: -it's wrong to say it's not exponential growth. The fact that it won't be exponential forever is well known (obviously it cannot increase past one-hundred percent, and will slow before that). If one wishes to be pedantic, you can say it is currently in or starts out as an exponential growth function and eventually slows. (But if one wanted to be pedantic, you could also say the Gompertz function is also an exponential function, just with a specific form that provides for exponential growth and then slows). -That point is irrelevant in a population that is nowhere near the so-called 'herd immunity' constraints. -The more important point is that even at relatively low levels of infection, it begins to overload the health system - any health system. And when the health system is overloaded (particularly in ability to provide intensive care spaces and ventilation support), things go bad quickly with increased mortality. You may not care about your own risk of getting a severe case, but you will care if you cannot get other necessary care because all available medical personnel and key equipment are tied up with covid patients and you're unable to get cancer care, any kind of non-urgent surgery, etc., etc. -This relates to the exponential function directly - search for the now famous "bend the curve" graph. If the rate of infection is slowed (the size of the exponent is lowered), it may be possible to keep the number of critical cases within the capacity of the medical system to manage. The final total may be the same number of cases, but if they occur over 24 months instead of 6 months, the mortality impacts may be enormous. (Side note: Wuhan figures fell, but not without massive government intervention; you can't just say 'if Wuhan kept doubling for sixty days it would be the population of the earth - the shape of the function was changed with outside intervention. Or in math terms, the exponent is not fixed). -Capacity: without getting into differences between countries, it doesn't make sense to say that e.g. US hospitals are at 65% capacity so we're okay. I know a bit about hotel business - and 65% is considered a pretty good approximation of long-term 'full capacity' (with normal margin for repairs and whatnot). The basic issue is 'surges' - use of hotels is not constant every day. A hotel with high weekend use will be full two or three days a week, with no (or minimal) extra rooms. With no spare capacity (on market) for large events like a super bowl or a world cup. Unlike the hotel market, though, there is minimal ability for 'other supply' (private homes, airbnb, etc) to fill the gap. There are not that many substitutes for ICU units with ventilators; people without hotel rooms can stay with relatives, people without ventilators when needed die. -The situation is worse with hospitals: we like to focus on beds, ICU units and ventilators. But trained medical staff is a key limiting factor - and they get sick, have to be isolated, and even die during epidemics. There is some capacity to increase (surge) but not unlimited; the system can get overwhelmed. It's one thing to have the spare capacity on hand to deal with a 'normal' surge or even a one-off catastrphic event limited to one major metropolitan area (where a spike in cases and then things settle down). A fast-spreading epidemic is another, because continued increases (for a while) and medical staff getting sick at the same time (and having to drop their usual specialty). It gets into triage of who lives and who dies very quickly.

#1 Any germies on the mask came from you. I have one mask in my car I wear only when inside a building. Don't make this a prison. Calm down. Getting over paranoid is a waste of energy. #2 Yes you are safe to play with your dog. You always were. If you encounter a neighbor's dog and wish to pet it--do. Upon return to your home it is always good practice to wash your hands and keep them away from your face. #3 It is an airborne virus. It is virulent before people have symptoms. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Stay home as a matter of lifestyle. Business have to start up..but that does't mean we should be willy nilly about leaving home. #4 Remember we stay home to slooow down who gets ill. NO ONE said this would save lives, they said they wanted to flatten the curve meaning decrease who is sick at any given time, so hospitals can deal with the worst cases and not lose people due to not being able to treat them. People spreading this I hope are unaware they have it because they are silent carriers or they aren't yet feeling ill. Which is why EVERYONE ALWAYS should wear a mask when inside a building. It helps all of us!!

sheilajoyce -- What an awful waste. Makes me angry on top of sad. My condolences to you and your family. I cannot understand the sheer selfishness of people who can't be bothered to wear a mask because they think *they* 'don't have it'. Asymptomatic people with Covid are the worst spreaders. Every one of them adds to the odds that another person will sicken, further spread Covid, even die. We don't even know yet what happens *later* to people with Covid who are currently asymptomatic. Please, everyone: Mask. Wash. Observe physical distancing. (As Dr. Michael Osterholm says, it's not really 'social' distancing'. The KT is an example of continuing to be 'social', just without physical proximity that can be lethal.)

I don't think the OP ever indicated her daughter is not or won't be compliant; in fact she mentioned that DD "does wear masks when necessary" It's the Dr. that was being flippant, and the OP just wants what will be most comfortable for her daughter. IME, i see very high compliance with mask policies among young adults. So "suck it up," whether the semester is in Ohio or Hawaii, is just uncalled for. A few posters have made a good point about "greener" options than disposables, but I'd be sure to send along some disposables as well. We have spares in baggies in our cars, in purses, wallets etc. In case she doesn't get around to washing them or misplaces them ... I hope your DD has a wonderful time and a great learning experience.