Rules for communication in a public health crisis, from former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy (Twitter @vivek_murthy):
1 Be transparent and truthful - this creates trust, accountability, and allows people to get valuable information. There is tremendous pressure in the middle of a crisis to over promise while also glossing over tough news. You must resist that urge. (2/x)
Vivek Murthy @vivek_murthy
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2 Be consistent - lurching from one position to another is confusing and plants seeds of doubt. It's ok to change your position if circumstances change, but explain why with clear logic and scientific evidence. (3/x)
Vivek Murthy @vivek_murthy
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3 Over communicate - err on the side of sharing too much information rather than too little. Information is empowering in a crisis. When people feel they don't have enough information, it creates anxiety and impacts their decision-making. (4/x)
Vivek Murthy @vivek_murthy
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4: Lead with scientists and science - science must triumph over politics when guiding a nation through a pandemic. The price of not doing so is measured in human suffering and lives lost. Communication must be led by scientists and policies must be grounded in science. (5/x)
Vivek Murthy @vivek_murthy
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5 Be compassionate - public health crises are scary and stressful times. Leaders must strive to be empathic and understanding, especially during disagreements. This applies not only to the public and the press but also toward members of their own team. (6/x)
Vivek Murthy @vivekmurthy
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Final Thoughts: Speaking the truth may be perceived as partisan in a polarized environment. But that is why it is all the more important that we defend the truth and protect the truth tellers at all costs. (7/x)
Vivek Murthy @vivekmurthy
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Without honest, transparent communication, you can’t build trust. When public trust evaporates, you’ve lost one of the most essential assets you need in the face of a crisis. Trust must be earned and preserved above all. (8/x END)
Interesting. I think I advocated for this a few hundred posts back.
Some of that is happening voluntarily. A person who works at a local grocery store posted on Facebook and it’s been shared a lot. The store had to close and decontaminate.
In fact, people who test positive have a moral duty to contact everyone and the public at large as to where they have been in the days before their symptoms developed. To do otherwise is cowardice and reprehensible.
I was thinking that, too, but then I also thought that the more people who are out and about, the more the virus is spread around on surfaces and that hand to face transmission seems to be one of the main ways people get sick. So, it would be good for those who have had it to know and be able to get back to normal lives but that might increase the infection rate for others who go out to get groceries and are otherwise at home.
Not sure if I follow you. If you are immune after having been sick, I believe you are not infectious anymore because the virus can’t survive in you. The more we have of them, the better it is since they will be roadblocks to the virus. Isn’t that how it works?
When I saw those spring breakers returning to the Midwest and New England, it made me even more furious that the Florida governor didn’t close the beaches (and still hasn’t!). He managed to seed outbreaks in Chicago and Indianapolis. Thanks dude. He, personally, is going to be responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.
Yes, I agree with what you said about immunity. I meant that the more people who are out and about, the more people are spreading virus around on surfaces. The immune person who touches the doorknob that the person with the virus sneezed on can contaminate other surfaces. The more people who go out of their homes and touch things, the more the virus is spread around. I do think that testing for antibodies is good, though, and getting as many people back to normal lives sooner rather than later is good as well. My husband and I joked that if we can find out if the illnesses we had were the virus, we could start a delivery business and it would do pretty well right now!
Totally agree here. This data, if available, could be used to find patterns and solutions that our experts are only guessing at right now. In the hands of our data scientists, this info could be a great help.
Unfortunately,…
represents the feeling of (probably) most. Our privacy always comes at a cost. I hope the cost in our current situation is not too high…
Isn’t it odd that a few days ago Hawaii instituted a ‘do not enter’ policy to people from all the other 49 states or mandatory quarantine for 14 days. No one says anything.
Rhode Island does the same for New York residents and the NY governor has a fit.
If Hawaii’s ‘experiment’ works, we will know what to do should there be another epidemic.
I wonder if the rural counties in this country that currently have no cases are cordoning off the roads to anyone other than essential travelers like truckers making deliveries.
Only a few like the outer banks. Here’s an article addressing the virus refuges. During the Spanish flu epidemic, Gunnison, CO blocked off and came out the other end as the only town with either no case.
As I understand it, Sweden has long had a different approach to medical care, choosing to aggressively intervene to prolong life only if a reasonably high quality of life is the expected outcome, at all ages. Accordingly, it would be expected to have a higher mortality rate, intentionally.
Updated NYS hospitalization and ICU numbers
Also number of patients discharged each day
[Cuomo said to look at the numbers over a period of time. Some cases may be reported a day later. It looks like yesterday numbers were suspiciously low as expected. The great news is that the numbers are holding (relatively) and we are now on 6 day doubling rate for new hospitalization]
When China was having so many cases, countries closed off against China. Should they have closed off to all foreign countries? I don’t think there’s a clear answer. NY has half the nation’s cases. and they are spreading. There are regions that had their first illness connected to NY. If you look at efficiency side, it would seem to make sense just like tracking cell phone location of an infected person. On the other hand…
The Florida Keys are closed to non-residents. This began last Sunday. All hotels were shut down and there are now traffic stops set up to prevent visitors from driving down from Miami.
