Fact: Nearly a million cases in the USA since early February, over 50,000 USAmericans dead. Nearly three million cases worldwide, over two hundred thousand dead.
Fact: In severe cases Covid-19
damages the lungs (acute respiratory distress syndrome), and can lead to organ failure in the heart, kidneys, and liver.
Fact: We have no vaccine and there's still much we don't know about the disease. We don't know if survivors have limited immunity, we don't know if the disease will diminish during the summer, we don't know if it (or a mutation) will show up after this current outbreak peaks and fades.
Fact: Besides being more lethal, the disease is much more communicable than the common flu.
Fact: Taking their cue from the president, groups on the political right are exploiting the pandemic by spreading lies and encouraging irresponsible behavior.
Fact: Social distancing and the nationwide shutdown have helped to slow the rate of infection. It's the best, and at this point the only, defense we have.