The number of new cases for each existing infection is still nearly 2x. That means the maximum number of future cases is still ahead, not behind us, and will remain so until the new infection rate goes well below 1x for an extended period of time.
Not really, there is a big difference in the number of potential secondary cases if there are 1,000 currently active cases vs. 10,000.
In any case, I am glad the military is going in to help with the outbreak. They should have been there months ago, before it got so big.
BTW, have you considered that the CDC might be... well, overstating the numbers a bit to try to get more funding?
First, this is mathematically highly unlikely if the multiplier is on the order of 2x or greater. Every derivative of 2x is positive. Given the estimate of 400,000 confirmed cases by the end of January, the number cannot be 1,000 now.
Given the known multiplier for official cases, nearly all of the cumulative cases since the last MMWR occurred in August and September. That's the way geometric progression works. At current multiplier, the difference between 1,000 cases and 10,000 cases is about 5 weeks. That's not really a very long time. It would push the 400,000 "officially confirmed" expectation from the end of January to the first or second week in March.
BTW, have you considered that the CDC might be... well, overstating the numbers a bit to try to get more funding?
The confirmed numbers come from too many sources to be fudged. I expect the "2.5 unreported cases for every confirmed case" is a high overestimate. Is CDC doing that to get more money? Covering their @sses is more likely; they aren't going to get a bunch of money but relief organizations, Pharma, countries in Africa will get more money for sure, in which case WHO would be the outfit most likely to be exaggerating.
Whether the military going there is a good thing yet remains to be seen. If they're put to effective use building quarantine facilities, transportation, supplies, logistics, body disposal, or just intimidating the idiots who are killing healthcare workers, yes, I agree those would all be good. I can envision a number of good "photo-op" uses that would not only epidemiologically worthless, but highly dangerous as well, and this administration has yet to prove that they have the slightest idea of how to use the US military, and the professional ticket-punchers in the Pentagon have yet to stand up to them when they don't.