"Panic is a virus that is both diligent and dangerous when left unchecked. So rather than letting it spread, stay skeptical of everything, be intelligent about where you are getting your information, and continuously put it into perspective. Take a deep breath, keep calm, and listen to the science." —William Wright Defebaugh
Coronavirus has been a concern in the main media for a few months now, but who can declare the illness a pandemic or epidemic? An epidemic is a regional outbreak of illness that spreads at levels above normal expectations, while a pandemic is defined as a worldwide spread of illness, affecting large numbers of people. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the decision to declare the illness an epidemic upon further assessment of its impact. The specialized agency is run by in coordination with the United Nations interested in offering public health advice and warnings. According to many articles currently circulating and trending on social media already declaring COVID-19 outbreak low risk. Misinformation regarding the virus is spreading almost as quickly as the virus itself. The New York Post posted an article stating the virus possibly leaked from a bioresearch lab in China, The White House Press Briefing, President Trump said “the risk to the American people remains very low”, and Rush Limbaugh is telling his listeners the virus was created in effort to undermine the Trump campaign. This inaccurate information and conspiracies theories regarding the virus continues to circulate in spite of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stating otherwise. CDC recently reported “It is important to note that current circumstances suggest it is likely that this virus will cause a pandemic”. This is a rapidly evolving situation and CDC’s risk assessment will be updated as needed.” (cdc.gov./coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary) The spread of incorrect information is drowning out the accurate health sources on social media. While untrustworthy websites have millions of engagements a day and are widespread. The CDC had around 175,000 social media shares, likes and etc. and the WHO had 25,000 engagements. Even though the sites mentioned are delivering reliable information they are rarely visited.