Lori Falce: Antidote to panic is information

My son is at home today, no doubt ignoring his vocabulary and the math homework he should be getting done in favor of battling zombies on his PlayStation.

I did not keep him home because of coronavirus. Well, not because I am afraid of coronavirus.

No, he is home because he has asthma and a bad cough that I am 98% sure is caused by allergies. But because of his asthma, I do tend to err on the side of caution when making decisions about his health.

Thus, if there is a suggestion that he should stay home because of the newly declared pandemic, he will stay home. So will I, because I believe it is the best way to protect my family and my co-workers. I am lucky enough to have a job that I could do from someplace other than my very cluttered desk if necessary.

And I am glad that I don’t make the decisions about what stays open and what doesn’t.

My Facebook feed is alive with people blaming the media for schools closing and shelves emptying.

“This is getting out of hand,” said one person. “The media is hyping this way up.”

The media is not making the decisions. Please remember that.

I decide what goes on our opinion page and where. I do not decide what the NBA does with its roster of highly-paid athletes.

News editors send reporters to cover press conferences where government officials announce the number of people testing positive and the number who have died. News editors don’t decide who gets a test and who doesn’t.

We do not create the news. We relay it.

Elected officials at national, state and local levels are deciding when to take action and when to wait. Billion-dollar organizations are making calculated moves to close the doors or delay competitions. Boards of directors for colleges and hospitals are weighing threats and risks.

And those people have been deciding over the past few days that the best course is limiting exposure.

It can’t be underestimated that the decisions being made are not wild and erratic. “You should stay home and rest because you are sick” and “cover your mouth” are chicken-soup-level medicine. No one is advising gathering two of every animal or digging a doomsday bunker.

What makes it significant is that it is being advised so broadly and enforced by more than just your mother.

It can be scary. Any time you don’t know what is happening, it is easy to be afraid. We understand that. And that is why we are still going to be at work — attending press conferences, asking questions, finding answers, telling stories, reporting the developments so that you have all the information at hand.

Because the antidote to panic isn’t ignorance. It’s facts.

My son knows that he is staying home because his asthma is triggered by his allergies. He knows he’s better off taking a break until he feels better, and because he has that information (and because he is 12 and has math class), he is perfectly content to stay home.

He isn’t afraid of coronavirus, because he knows I will give him the facts about it when he needs them. And until then, he’s willing to defend our home from the onslaught of video game zombies.