We don’t live on top of each other in CA. possibly the cities do AND we don’t have mass transit such as subways carting the masses everywhere we use CARS!!!!
This is where California’s unique urban sprawl actually helps them avoid the problems of New York.
New York reveals a big reason why mass transit, with its illusion of safety, has one big safety factor to consider: our physical health. If COVID-19 was like the 1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus), we would have had a 50-50 chance of death, if we caught it. Imagine the havoc a transit system would play with a similar disease.