That’s how you spread panic! Ohio official backtracks on claim 100k people in state ALREADY carry coronavirus
Dr Amy Acton’s shocking claim that 100,000 Ohioans are already carrying the Covid-19 coronavirus was just “guesstimating,” she said a day later, noting that the actual number of confirmed cases stood at just 13.
At least one percent of the population carries the virus, Acton had said at a press conference on Thursday. "We have 11.7 million people. So the math is over 100,000. So that just gives you a sense of how this virus spreads and is spreading quickly.” Her comment quickly went viral, so to speak.
By Friday, however, she was walking that back, saying that she was only “guesstimating” the numbers. The Ohio Department of Health has confirmed only 13 cases in the state so far, with 159 more awaiting test results and 50 confirmed negatives. Another 333 people are being monitored.
This is a Dr. Amy Acton appreciation post. She's smart, calm, cool, and collected. We're so lucky to have her as we combat the #COVID19 outbreak. #COVID19OhioReady#DrAmy#DrAmyActonpic.twitter.com/UC2BadXQDh
— Ohio Dept of Health (@OHdeptofhealth) March 13, 2020
The ODH doubled down on support for Dr Acton, however, describing her as "smart, calm, cool and collected." She also received a glowing write-up in the Columbus Dispatch as a “calming” voice of reason.
Ohio health director Amy Acton is a calming leader in #coronavirus crisishttps://t.co/tvFmgtojc4
— Randy Ludlow (@RandyLudlow) March 13, 2020
That left some members of the general public scratching their heads and pointing out that her “guesstimating” math actually fueled panic and fear.
Others noted that Acton’s math was especially egregious, given that there have been 127,000 total confirmed cases of the virus in the entire world so far.
I feel like it was really irresponsible of the Ohio Health department to go out there and being like "yeah, we did some math and we THINK there might be 100,000 people infected based on assumptions" with barely any testing actually doneThat's how you start mass panic
— CryptidWorks (@CryptidWorks) March 13, 2020
127,000 confirmed cases in the WORLD and she thinks OHIO is already at least 1% positive with 100,000 of them. This woman should be fired and possibly held liable for inciting panic. https://t.co/3VFNOeOfQT
— JamesDeanAnderson (@JamesDeanAnder1) March 13, 2020
At the time of her remarks, only five Ohioans had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“The coronavirus is already all over the state of Ohio,” Governor Mike DeWine said on Friday, echoing the doctor’s comments from the day before, even as Acton informed the public that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 13.
Also on rt.com Trump declares national emergency over coronavirus pandemic, unlocking $50bn in fundingTesting for the virus has become somewhat of an obsession in the government, with the House Democrats making it a key plank of their coronavirus relief bill to provide free tests for anyone who wants them. Though President Donald Trump continues to insist that only those who exhibit symptoms should bother with testing, so as not to overwhelm the system, the White House did take several steps on Friday to boost the number of test kits available.
Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus on Friday, after the World Health Organization officially recognized the outbreak as a pandemic. There have been over 1,800 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US, of which 42 have been fatal.
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