What are your thoughts regarding the suppression of information?
My view is that there has been much misleading information. Take face masks. The BBC had a program talking about much of the misinformation about coronavirus. Their program then went on to mislead everybody about it, while claiming to be myth busting. They said face masks don't work. Then they say you need to use them properly else they don't work. Then they say there is a shortage for medics. Well, I have issues with that. Tell us the truth! How can you say face masks don't work and in the same sentence say there is a shortage for medical workers? Why would the medical workers wear them if they don't work? They are just trying to mislead the public. There are two types of mask. The surgical masks that are less effective, and the ones with a valve which are very effective. It leads to beliefs that are just not true. I spoke to someone yesterday who said they thought the medical workers only wore them so that people thought they looked like they knew what they were doing!
Next, the washing the hands thing. While it is a good thing to do, most transmission is via airborne particles. This is not highlighted. Most talk is about washing your hands. Face masks help avoid the airborne particles. But this is part of the cover-up. They don't want to tell you the truth about the face masks and that combined with the higher risk of transmission through the airborne route, because they fear there will be a run on the masks which are already in short supply.
So, in my eyes, they have lost all credibility. They are telling part of the story but not the whole story. I have been going to different sources to get clarity on the situation.
My advice is...
Get one of the valved face masks if you can find one (even the industrial non-medical ones are supposedly effective. Disclaimer: ignore everything I say!); wash hands for 30 seconds (studies show it is significantly more effective than the recommended 20 seconds); spray bleach on shopping that has plastic cover; quarantine dried food (e.g. pasta, biscuits etc) for 3 days if it is packaged in cardboard; quarantine your mail for a few days, especially if plastic transparent element on them; avoid a daily newspaper and read online if possible; avoid going to shops if possible, and if you do go, wear a face mask.
Why not turn your risk of getting the virus down to near zero? If the highest risk only lasts the next 3 months, why take any risks at all? Stay safe, stay alive and let the virus become the problem of the reckless and foolhardy.
