https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200305132111.htm

As the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States rapidly expands, the authors say, the public needs reliable and actionable information to help them understand their risk of exposure as they go about their lives. They need clarity and transparency about travel bans, quarantines, personal protection efforts, and social distancing (e.g., closing mass transit, closing schools, or cancelling sporting events). Moreover, the public needs the assurance that as more is learned about this emerging infection, the information they get from trusted sources reflects both accurately and clearly what the health care establishment does and does not know.

"Currently, the public health community does not have all of the evidence needed to reliably predict the trajectory of this infection," Ratzan says. "Unfortunately, this uncertainty creates a ripe environment for both fear and misinformation."