This is not hype.
This a medical care system that had been decimated by decades of efficiency experts not having the surge capacity or resources necessary.
This is a CDC cut from the top including the entire pandemic unit.
This is a country stoked to such partisanship that new viruses become seen through partisan lenses and science is completely disrespected without trust by millions.
These are all very dangerous things.
This situation is not a media creation.
It is evolving, dynamic, and destabilizing. And what we believe today will somewhat be borne out by future events, but some things will change.
Closing down large groups is a part of the disruption. And may prove to be important.
Rutgers has closed meetings of larger than 15. There are no magic numbers on this. And if it works it will all appear to have been unnecessary. And if it doesn't, it will have been not sufficiently restrictive. And we won't know for a while.
In the mean time, good hand hygiene, some social distance, and advanced common sense will help.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/high-risk-complications.html
Even as our systems are not fully equipped to handle this.
Loyal