[avman]

Lots of people had been infected with COVID-19 and thought they had "a bad cold" or influenza, took OTC stuff for their symptoms, and went on with life.
New Orleans is climbing rapidly on numbers of people who test positive for COVID-19, and most agree that was because of the MASS of people who came here for Mardi Gras, in THE LAST 2-3 WEEKS OF FEBRUARY. So there were people jammed into the bars, restaurants, crowded parade routes, etc.
Keep that date range in mind, and the end of it, but the biggest day was FEBRUARY 25TH.
So now about 4 weeks later, we've gone from a few cases, to a few hundred, to over 1,000.
That's how long COVID-19 has "been around", at least since the last week or so of February.
On another important note, the Veterans Administration hospital in New Orleans has been treating their COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine and azithromyacin, FOR WEEKS that is what they have SUCCESSFULLY been using, so it's not just "promising" IT'S PROTOCOL!