Commentary: Not taking the coronavirus seriously can kill people

I'm the primary caregiver for my 92-year-old mom, so I've listened closely to what experts say about the novvel coronavirus since it hits the elderly and those with chronic diseases the hardest.

I stocked up on necessary supplies, including our chocolate martini fixins, so we could hunker down. While shopping, I encountered a clerk with a nasty cough. I stayed far away from her, but it made me extremely uncomfortable.

Experts say the virus mainly spreads through tiny droplets from sneezing or coughing, but it can remain on surfaces for hours to days.

I guess she hadn't gotten the message to "stay home if you're sick." I'm hoping she just had a cold, but I wished she could be tested.

Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump said, "Anybody who wants a test, gets a test." That was a whopper of pandemic proportions.

While other countries are doing massive testing, U.S. doctors struggle to get their patients tested.

So the "low number" of cases is dangerously misleading the public about the scope of the virus. The number of cases is about to explode with testing, maybe, finally coming.

I don't blame the clerk for not realizing she could be endangering vulnerable people. It's the responsibility of our government and the media to make that clear.

But some of those entities failed us. Trump and his disinformation machine, comprised of GOP sycophants and the right wing media, did what they do best, misinform the public about anything that might harm Trump.

Trump downplayed the health threat on Fox News saying many people just have very mild cases and "some of them go to work, but they get better."

They may get better, but they also may have unwittingly contributed to the spread of a virus that could kill people.

One GOP lawmaker even mocked the virus by wearing a gas mask on the House floor, but later self-quarantined after realizing he was in contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.

Trump didn't self-quarantine after contact with a person who tested positive for the virus, and he wasn't tested before repeatedly shaking hands as he declared this extremely contagious virus as a national emergency. Trump's obviously not taking this seriously.

Since our testing capability is abysmal, social distancing is our most valuable tool to slow the virus spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also says, "Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms."

Unfortunately, Trump's propaganda machinery was successful. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that just 35 percent of Republicans are concerned about the virus, compared with 68 percent of Democrats.

A terrifying effect of their misinformation was on display at a Trump rally March 2 where a woman claimed she didn't believe the coronavirus "exists."

We can stop the virus from spreading and save lives by following the experts' advice.

A European doctor said it best in her Op-ed: "Young and unafraid of the coronavirus pandemic? Good for you. Now stop killing people."

She warned the U.S. and the Brits about our complacency with the virus. She compared it to Italy before things blew up into a "horror movie" where that health care system was overwhelmed and doctors had to make decisions about which patients would get a ventilator, while others struggled to breathe.

The doctor's advice to us before we get to that point is "stay put" unless you have to go out, even if the government doesn't call for it because: "It's the civic and moral duty of every person, everywhere to take part in the global effort to reduce this threat to humanity."

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