CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
LOS ANGELES DAILY COVID DATA (your city)
CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE COVID UPDATE (your State)
TV and Twitter only sporadically provide updated COVID information and the situation constantly changes. Bookmarked city & State COVID websites can be quickly consulted before doing anything involving crowds or close contact.
In case, like me, you’re confused about what the disease is called:
COVID19 (for the year it broke out), more easily referred to as COVID but also (confusingly) known as “coronavirus” which is just part of the official acronym:
CO = corona virus (SARS-CoV-2)
VI = virus
D = disease
MASKS do work and here’s scientific proof from a trustworthy source, THE LANCET Medical Journal:
MASKS cut transmission from 17% to 3.1%
DISTANCING cuts it from 12.8% to 2·6%
EYE PROTECTION cuts it from 16% to 5.5%
Unclear language and euphemisms can be dangerously misleading and falsely reassuring; I thought a long hauler was a trucker, but no:
LONG HAULERS = persistent serious symptoms post-COVID.
If your City and State COVID UPDATE websites don't show 2 consecutive weeks of declining infections to a level below 5% (Calif is currently at 6.6%), stay home until they do. And when you do venture out, follow the 3 simple rules for avoiding COVID, you know what they are:
1) Wear an effective MASK (never with a valve which expels the virus with your breath). According to medical experts, universal mask-wearing would bring an epidemic under control within a few weeks.
2) Stay 6 feet (2 arm's lengths) away from people.
3) Wash hands often