Covid-19 Social Media Crazy Fakery
As of this time and date (March 2, 2020) there are 91 reported positive cases of Corona Covid-19 cases in the United States. Forty-eight of them were from the repatriated Diamond Princess cruise ship. There is no doubt that more cases will be reported, and as testing becomes more available we will see that number go up in most every community. There is really no way to fully contain the spread of an airborne virus.
Everywhere I go people are talking about the virus, asking questions, posting on social media and innocently passing on erroneous information. The 24 hour news channels finally have something besides Trump on which to focus, even though there aren't many "new" things to report.
It should come as no surprise that the internet is now full of Bots (automatic robots on the internet that often sow malicious information)that are posting all sorts of conspiracy theories, fake science and just inflaming fear and discord. This misinformation is a very real danger. Bots play on people's worst fears to easily spread fake news. One well place bot or hoax website can be shared millions of times because people are seeking information.
The Covid-19 virus is a public health crisis and social media, including you-tube videos, is not the place to get valid information. At a time when trust in our government is at an all time low, we should trust the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to give the most factual information. Or you can trustEverythingHealthto give true data:
Test kits for the virus are finally being supplied (slowly) to state public health departments.
As testing becomes more widespread, the number of cases will also increase. At this time it is difficult to accurately predict a "mortality rate", except for Wuhan China.
Most patients (80%) experience mild disease, approximately 14% severe symptoms and 5% were critically ill. (World Health Organization)
The CDC does not recommend wearing a face mask to protect from catching this virus, so all those news reports showing the shelves are empty of masks should not cause you to feel concern!
This was not a "created virus" in China or any other government.
It is important that we be comfortable with uncertainty. This is a new virus and we are still learning about it. But it does behave like other viruses and we know great deal about community spread. Be careful of believing everything you read or hear and check facts before you spread misinformation.
