Professor Lou Bloomfield has posted a video explaining how social distancing can help to "flatten the curve" by decreasing the exponential growth of COVID-19.

Nice write-ups can be found at 

https://news.virginia.edu/content/physics-professor-lou-bloomfield-explains-crucial-math-behind-social-distancing

and

https://www.nbc12.com/2020/03/15/uva-physics-professor-explains-crucial-math-behind-social-distancing/