10 Reasons We Should Still Take the Coronavirus Seriously

Leaders’ missteps have created mistrust, but we still have to fight a pandemic

An Alaskan reader challenged us to share 10 reasons to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously—to believe that it is “not a hoax,” as she put it. Her state’s experience with the coronavirus has encouraged its residents to see it as a faraway problem: The entire state has suffered only 17 deaths so far, whereas a single nursing home in my area saw a higher death toll.

Part of Alaska’s separation is geographic. Air traffic largely ceased from mid-March until recently, and few would-be visitors braved the lengthy road trip through Canada. (For the curious: Yes, Canada allowed Americans to drive across the border if they promised they were heading straight for Alaska.)

That brings us to the first reason: As Arizona, Texas, and Florida have shown, case counts can rise quickly in places that hadn’t been hit hard. This isn’t mainly from increased testing, because the percentage of positive tests is increasing—not decreasing. Frustration with the economic damage from shutdowns has led to political resistance, just as annoyance with the shutdowns’ inconveniences has led to fatigue among the public. Both mean that we are likely entering a period where the virus spreads more rapidly. My county now reports 100 and even 200 cases per day—far beyond even its April high—but plans minimal restrictions in response. Read More

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No, the CDC is not on the verge of lifting 'epidemic' label for COVID-19

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky state and local authorities are struggling to gain the cooperation of the public in complying the  public health measures that they implemented to contain the virus in the state. I went shopping for groceries early this morning. The supermarket opens early in the morning for older people and those who have pre-existing conditions. A large sign posted on the door at the entrance to the supermarket warned shoppers that the store was cooperating with the governor's emergency order requiring the wearing of face masks. All the store clerks wore face masks. As I was about to drive away, I saw a middle-aged man enter the store. He was not wearing a face mask. He exemplifies the lack of cooperation with which state and local authorities are struggling.

In the state and my county the number of COVID-19 cases are steadily climbing. In Lexington they are skyrocketing.

The organization (if it is an organization and not one individual ) that posted the article which was fact-checked in the second article deliberately circulated false information on the Facebook. The disinformation that was contained in the article was the kind of false information that alt right and other extremists groups and agents of foreign powers circulate on Facebook to create political and social instability in the United States. False references are an indicator of deliberate disinformation and not misinformation--inaccurate information someone has picked up somewhere and is passing it on to other people.