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Beyond the Byline: Everybody do the Wear Your Face Mask polka!

Braves' Markakis hits walkoff HR after opting into season

The world is not flat. But if I said it were and told you that you should be careful because you might sail off the edge, I would sound right. I may even sound compassionate and concerned for your welfare. However, the world is not flat. And me saying that it is would not make it so. I would simply be wrong.
				What if I told you that the swine flu was worse than the coronavirus? And then went on to argue that in light of that misinformation, that we should not be shuttering business because of COVID-19. Guess what? I would be wrong. The swine flu-H1N1 virus had a mortality rate of 0.02%. The current data on COVID-19 mortality rate is, according to John&rsquo;s Hopkins University as of July 17th 3.9%.
				Who cares? Well let&rsquo;s picture just three million people infected. The swine flu would have killed 600 people. Now let&rsquo;s look at COVID-19, 117,000 would be dead. That seems like a meaningful difference to me.
				So, if I argued that this COVID-19 thing is an overblown, fake news, socialist scam designed to undermine the president and his party, I would be wrong. Facts are stubborn things. The truth can be inconvenient but it remains the truth. This virus does not understand alternative facts or political spin. Follow the science and only open schools and bars if it is safe or when someone tells me how many lives it is worth.
				Alec Frank
				Wilkes-Barre

Misinformation about COVID-19 is dangerous