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&ldquo;The virus is under control &#8230;&rdquo;
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the nursing homes driving up infection numbers &#8230;&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Masking won&rsquo;t stop it from spreading &#8230;:
				We&rsquo;ve all heard these statements, and similar assertions, over recent months. In some cases, they may have been uttered by family members or close friends. You may have subscribed to some of this narrative yourself.
				And that&rsquo;s OK. This column is not meant to scold anyone. There&rsquo;s an overwhelming amount of information being circulated on this topic, and it&rsquo;s become difficult to decipher what&rsquo;s reliable and what&rsquo;s not.
				The goal today is to dispel some myths surrounding COVID-19 by looking at evidence. Topics can be politicized, and information can be distorted to align with agendas. But the beautiful thing about science is it doesn&rsquo;t have the luxury of worrying about ideology. Over time, it only answers to facts.
				&ldquo;The virus is under control &#8230;&rdquo;
				Here&rsquo;s a statement we&rsquo;ve heard by varying degrees throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic. In the early days of infection in the U.S. it was used to insinuate COVID-19 would never become a problem. Then, after it clearly was a problem, the line became more of a prediction that it would end quickly and life would return to normal.
				To be fair, lockdowns across the country and the practice of physical distancing, masking and frequent handwashing did have a significant impact on slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. We did indeed, initially, &ldquo;Flatten the Curve.&rdquo; But the U.S. saw its highest single-day increase in new positive cases on Oct. 23, and Pennsylvania set a record on the same day, mirroring that national trend.
				If we can come together as a society to keep our distance, cover our faces and practice respiratory hygiene, we can slow transmission again. Until we&rsquo;ve developed and distributed a safe, effective vaccine, these are our best weapons against COVID-19.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the nursing homes driving up infection numbers &#8230;&rdquo;
				There were periods throughout the pandemic when outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities and personal care units were driving smaller, localized spikes in infection rates. But to be honest, even then, attributing trends to one source or one type of care facility was nearsighted.
				Since Sept. 1, the age groups in which we are seeing the most positive tests are those ages 20-29 and 50-59. So, clearly COVID-19 is not only spreading through our 65 and older population.
				With colleges and universities back in session, one could draw the conclusion that some of the spread can be attributed to that demographic and those with whom they&rsquo;d typically socialize, especially if they&rsquo;re not being as responsible with distancing, masking and handwashing measures.
				But that 50-59 crowd should be a red flag that transmission is not limited to certain populations, and I can confirm that we are seeing evidence of community spread across the regions we serve at Geisinger.
				&ldquo;Masking won&rsquo;t stop it from spreading &#8230;&rdquo;
				Let&rsquo;s be clear and give the virus the respect it deserves.
				The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is incredibly infectious, and any time you are among other people who may be infected, there&rsquo;s a chance you&rsquo;ll contract it.
				However, masking &mdash; along with frequent handwashing or hand-sanitizing and staying out of crowds and at least six feet from other individuals &mdash; absolutely decreases the chances this highly infectious disease will move from person to person. Some recent studies suggest that six feet is in fact sometimes not far enough!
				We know this works because it already has. When we stayed away from one another during the lockdowns mandated in recent months, we saw transmission slow and eventually plateau.
				When we began to adopt masking and hygiene measures as communities, we saw how we were able to return to business and interaction in small capacities and keep resurgences at bay.
				And if we can continue to cover our mouths and noses when we must navigate public situations, keep our distance, and clean our hands on the way in and the way out, we can tamp down the spread of COVID-19 again.
				Remember, it will not only prevent you from getting sick; it will prevent others from falling ill because of you, especially if you don&rsquo;t know you have the virus.
				And if you do suspect you have COVID-19, stay home, and call your primary care physician if your symptoms become serious.
				We CAN beat this, but it will take us all working together

Dispelling COVID-19 myths