Wrong.  Actually testing is impeding the efforts to contain the disease in hard-hit parts of the country such as New York and California.  Health officials are restricting testing to health care workers and the severely ill since containment is no longer possible.  Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, remarked that protective gear such as masks, equipment and gowns, which are in short supply, are being wasted when worn by workers testing potential patients.  Those with mild symptoms should stay home and isolate to preserve finite resources. Moreover, crowding at some walk-in test centers has been reported-further, defeating the purpose.

Dumbest move of all.  I actually bumped into someone in the park who wanted to visit a coronavirus patient so he would build up immunity to protect his 80-year-old parents.  Firstly, you might be one of those 15% of people who develop severe symptoms such as shortness of breath, low oxygen,  lung difficulties and possibly death (2% likelihood).  Moreover, the amount of immunity you acquire depends not only on the virus itself but on your ability to respond to it.  Your immune system has to remember the virus and over time this protection may fade.  There are also different strains of coronavirus which you might not be able to fight.  Finally, there was a recent report in Beijing, China that more than 14% of recovered Covid-19 patients tested positive again-better to be safe than sorry-Stay Away!!

Misinformation.  Stark new data from the United States and Europe show that 38% of those hospitalized were under 55.  French health officials similarly released information that half of the 400 coronavirus patients in intensive care were under 65 with Netherlands reporting the same figures for those under 50.  While 80 percent of fatalities are in the elderly-the possibility for lung and organ damage should not be taken lightly.

Untrue.  While China most likely experienced its initial case in the first weeks of November it wasn’t until January 20th that officials confirmed the mystery virus spreads human-to-human.  In fact the World Health Organization (WHO)  declared on January 15th “there is no clear evidence of sustained human-to-human transmissions and there are no infections reported among health care workers.”  These proclamations stymied global efforts as the gravity of the situation was hidden from public view.  If China had contained and quarantined just three weeks earlier its outbreak would have been reduced by 95%.  Moreover, the WHO’s benign naming of the disease “coronavirus”, which indicates the spiked-like nature of the proteins which form a corona (a crown in Latin), instead of the more apropos name SARS-Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, was intentionally done to destigmatize blame from the Chinese community.  This trivial title led many to believe this affliction was no more severe than a cold or mild flu-belying its lethal respiratory effects.  In fact, China excoriated the United States, Australia and Singapore in February for cutting off travel for non-residents from mainland China by saying they had flouted WHO recommendations and were “sowing panic” among the public.

Incorrect.  When the virus becomes suspended in droplets smaller than five micrometers-known as aerosols-it can last for a half-hour in the atmosphere.  Moreover, the virus lives on plastic and steel for up to 72 hours and on cardboard up to 24 hours.  However, the major driver of transmission is still touching surfaces or standing closer than 6-feet to someone who has been infected who subsequently sneezes or coughs in your vicinity.

The biggest myth of all is that Covid-19 should not stop us from living our lives.  For the time being it is necessary to reduce socialization, wash hands frequently for 20 seconds, stand 6-feet apart from others, and try to remain positive which can increase immunity during these trying times.