Graphs like this are circulating. They are important. We can plot rise in COVID-19 cases & align 'start' of epidemic to some uniform standard (eg, 100 cases), and then use the trajectories to evaluate each country's response and likely future course. USA should be on war footing. 
I would like to add, in case it is not clear, that I hope that I (and others) are wrong about this. Perhaps things won't be so bad. But we must look at what was done in China and what is happening in Italy and ask ourselves, why would COVID-19 be any different in USA?
It is hard for many people to intuitively appreciate exponential growth. Nothing seems to be happening for a long time, until a lot happens at once.
