An abundance of hope has been placed in “flattening the curve,” which is indeed an important concept that must be achieved. This will delay overburdening crowded emergency rooms and ICUs, spreading out the number of critically ill patients.

Should this goal be achieved, it does not mean we are out of harm’s way. Many people will still not have immunity to this virus and can be susceptible to infection.

I used to visit my 98-year-old mother daily, but now it is once a week. The other days, we FaceTime. The last time I saw her was through her window, leaving a sterile bag of reading material, her favorite hamburgers, and chocolates for Easter.

Yet visiting her without the window barrier, especially when I care for patients not knowing whether they might have this highly contagious virus, would clearly be dangerous. This will not change.

“Flattening the curve” is a worthy goal, but it is only a first step in a strategic plan to totally remove the threat to all citizens.

We must not lose sight of this in the overall plan, and continue to protect our loved ones … and ourselves.

Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D., is a geriatric house-call physician who serves as president of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults and Assemblyman to the California Senior Legislature. He has practiced in the Santa Clarita Valley for 32 years.