Opinion: After 2 Months, I'm Completely Confused About COVID-19

You would think after a couple of months I would have learned something by now. But, I must confess that after 2 months of lock-down I'm still as confused as ever about COVID-19.

Due to the fact that this is such a controversial issue, there are a few things I need to clear up before I begin my rant. First, I am not a political person. I have deep convictions and tend to be hyper-conservative, but I don't trust any political parties so I don't have an agenda. Second, and this is very important, I am in no way doubting that this virus is real. I have a good friend who's daughter has the virus and my wife has a friend who has lost two family members. Coronavirus is real.

With that out of the way, I am amazed by all the I don't know about COVID-19. I had to go look it up because I've lost track of time as the days pass by, but the lock-down orders began in the middle of March according to Wikipedia. Over 60 days later, I still don't completely understand how serious this virus is in Wyoming. One of our more recent news stories about COVID-19 involved 6 new cases that had been reported in Natrona County. In that story, the health department mentioned that community spread was possible in some of those cases. Here's the caveat: if there is community spread, they can't pinpoint where. Again to be clear, I don't blame the health department or hospital for not knowing.

If we can't know where community spread has possibly happened, that means it could be anywhere or everywhere. We just can't seem to know and that is where my frustration begins. I try to protect my friends and family as much as I possibly can, but I can't protect them from everywhere or everything. It's insanely confusing, but there's no one I can really blame. It is the way that it is.

We all need accurate data to make good decisions on how to overcome this pandemic. Sure, the CDC website has good hygiene information on best practices for washing hands and social distancing, etc. But, when you're dealing with a virus that can (apparently) be spread by someone before they're even symptomatic, how can you really tell where this virus is a threat? Here's the exact wording from the CDC website about how the virus spreads (I've put the phrase in question in bold):

The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person, mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Here's another sentence from the CDC:

COVID-19 seems to be spreading easily and sustainably in the community (“community spread”) in many affected geographic areas.

Even the government agencies really don't know FOR SURE what exactly we're dealing with or how we stop it. This is why I sit here 60 days later completely unsure of just about anything regarding this pandemic.

I have and will continue to abide by social distancing and quarantine guidelines, but I can't 100% tell you that I am any closer to understanding what I really want to know about this virus or how dangerous it really is in Wyoming. I'm confused and I have the feeling that I'm not alone.

The only thing I can do for sure is to continue to pray and support the health care workers and everyone else that is on the front lines trying to keep life going for all of us while we wait for a firm solution on how we move forward.