Thing is a lot of the country could easily become like NY within little time if there was no physical distancing requirements.
Agreed. With an R Naught factor of 3.5 to 4, and this pathogen being as deadly as it is.
"WHO has estimated the R naught of COVID-19 to be around 1.95 and other estimates from researchers following the outbreak put it around 2.2, meaning about two people will catch the virus from every person who already has it."
I would imagine (but have no way of knowing) that the R naught in New York city could well be substantially higher than in most places. New York city has a population density of around 27,000 per square mile.
Also, not sure really how deadly this pathogen is. Clearly it is deadly to the old, especially those with medical problems. However, we need to keep in mind that the vast majority of old people who get it will recover. While it is certainly affecting some young people, the percentage drops way down as far as lethality. There is a reason why the "experts" are saying that there are likely many, many people who are, or have been, infected and experienced few or no symptoms.
