> medical staff are being furloughed

Some lazy Googling told me that mostly non medical hospital and healthcare workers are being laid off. And dentists and other medical practices are shedding medical staff. Dentists have been forced to close in California, except for emergency procedures. But doctor offices and practices are allowed to stay open, and people are free to go in for checkups and visits. Heck my local vet's office is open and I took my pet in for a non-emergency (i.e. concerning but not immediately life-threatening) checkup. People have been avoiding the doc's office for non-urgent stuff out of caution and fear, not because it's forbidden.

I can't add much. My wife does significant but non-urgent care and is not working. My dentist is not doing cleanings and checkups. I do have a couple of friends with broken bones that got them set. Personally, I wouldn't be caught dead in an ER unless there were simply no alternative.

> People have been avoiding the doc's office for non-urgent stuff out of caution and fear, not because it's forbidden.

I'm sure it's both. Either way, it matters. Hypothetically, if we can hit herd immunity fast, that fear would probably diminish quickly. I don't know if that's a good plan or not, but certainly it needs to be considered.