Our View: Just the facts, people. Just the facts

Many claims and comments have been made about novel coronavirus 2019 and the illness it causes, COVID-19, from the start, and they are continuing.

People need to be careful what they say.

To start with, people shouldn’t call it “the flu,” whether it is with any racist modifier or not.

Coronavirus is not the flu. Influenza is caused by the influenza virus.

And that is one of the problems that has led to restrictions and shutdowns across the nation, and the world, to slow the spread of the virus. It is new. 

Evidence indicates that the virus is a mutation of a virus that normally can infect bats and went through some intermediate host and into humans. The problem is, it is new. 

No treatment or vaccine yet is approved for the virus. As it is new, humans basically have no immunity or resistance to it. About the only way to not catch the virus is to avoid it.

Another claim is that only elderly people and people in high-risk groups need to be worried about catching the virus.

Wrong.

People in those groups have to worry more about getting seriously ill or dying, but virtually anyone can acquire — and spread — the virus, and, although many might acquire the virus and never feel any effects, even people who don’t die or become seriously ill might get sick enough to feel it.

The World Health Organization posted:

“People of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus. 

“WHO advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves from the virus, for example by following good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene.”

So, the argument seems to actually be, “If you won’t get really sick, why worry about it?”

People with that attitude better hope they don’t end up being one of the people who seem to be at low risk but end up dying from COVID-19, or that they don’t transmit the virus to a friend or loved one who ends up dying.

And research is still finding more problems. The disease is so new, scientists don’t know that much about it yet, although they are working round-the-clock to find out more and to find treatments and vaccines.

One thing they are finding out is that infants younger than 1 may be at high risk of serious illness.

And now evidence that the virus can cause a severe and potentially fatal illness in children and young adults is being investigated, with New York reporting the illness has occurred in people from younger than 5 up to 19.

And much of the comments about COVID-19 are made to bash the restrictions placed on people. 

Last week, columnist Michael Reagan wrote that South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been called “foolish and stupid” and was “shamed” by the media for not imposing restrictions in her state. Instead, “she didn’t panic and refused to shut down the economy of South Dakota,” which had 31 COVID-19 deaths out of a population of 900,000 May 7, Reagan wrote.

By Thursday of this week, South Dakota’s death toll had risen to 43, with four new deaths confirmed Thursday. It had 3,792 positive cases, up from 2,905 reported May 7 with 60 new cases confirmed in Thursday’s report.

Montana, which has a population of more than a million, 10 percent more than South Dakota, implemented a state of emergency March 12 and started issuing restrictions March 15 — some of which had already been imposed by local governments — had no new cases Thursday. It had a total of 462 cases, up six in a week with no new cases confirmed Thursday. And that is when the restrictions imposed early in March are starting to be loosened, with Phase One re-opening starting nearly three weeks ago.

Even with restrictions being loosened and a larger population, Montana has about 12 percent of the number of cases that South Dakota has.

And it has had 16 deaths — the last one confirmed April 29 — just more than one-third the number of deaths in South Dakota. And that is with six Montana deaths coming in a county where a nursing home was infected early in the pandemic. If those deaths had not occurred, Montana would have less than one-quarter South Dakota’s death toll.

Maybe COVID-19 is a serious concern for everyone, and maybe things like social distancing, stay-at-home restrictions and wearing cloth face masks do work.