Thread by @JonahBlank

Here is the @CDCgov guidance on #CoronaVirus:
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

For most of us, it is utterly useless. And so is the information coming from the @WHO, and every other organization that should be helping provide guidance to the public.

Brief thread on why.
<1/8>

2/8
The public is being told utterly contradictory things about #CoronaVirus:
1. Relax, it's kind of like a bad flu. After all, flu kills 60,000 annually in America alone. Don't panic.
2. But this virus is probably a pandemic. Treat it as a global crisis.

Please, pick just one.

3/8
The advice given to the general public on #CoronaVirus is insultingly useless:
-Try not to get coughed on, or touch the mucus/spit/etc of other people. And try not to expose others to your own.

So, is this like a cold? Flu? Or like Bubonic Plague?

The difference matters.

4/8
Some questions for @CDCgov & @WHO:
-Should we travel? I live in #Indonesia (which claims it has no cases, which is untrue). I need to go to #Singapore. Should I put the trip off for a week? A month? Forever?
-Should we treat this like flu? Or Ebola?
-Do nothing?

5/8
Here's something I've learned in govt:
-In a crisis, the worst thing you can do is fail to provide credible information. Because when you need the public to trust you, they won't.
-I saw this when I lived in #India during an outbreak of Bubonic Plague. And in US during H1N1.

6/8
So, @CDCgov, @WHO & all govts: Just be honest.
-If #CoronaVirus is going to be a global mass-killer-- tell us. We can handle it. There are other mass-killers out there.
-If we can't do anything to keep ourselves safe-- tell us. We can handle it. We live with such threats.

7/8
And, @CDCgov & @WHO, if there is something we can do about #CoronaVirus: Just be honest.
-Is washing our hands and covering our coughs truly the extent of the preparations we need?
-Are YOU taking other precautions for your own families? If so, what are they?

8/8
When I was in US govt, I dealt with similar situations for H1N1, avian influenza & other health scares: In each case, @CDCgov was slow to give accurate, credible info. That led to widespread distrust.

On #CoronaVirus, you are NOT doing your job.

Just. Be. Honest.
Please.