'If people don't trust that the government is telling them the truth about the risk to themselves and their families, people start to make decisions that are not rational...that puts our medical system at greater risk,' says a global biology policy expert.
, a physician and University of Michigan medical historian, agrees that complete and clear communication from officials is what establishes public trust during an epidemic. He says whenever a country announces there's an epidemic, it stands to lose a lot of money, so there's always an urge to wish it away.
Some of the ugly responses to coronavirus are familiar, he says, when you look to epidemics past — especially the scapegoating and racism."During the early 20th century, when we had 1 to 1.5 million immigrants coming in a year — mostly through the gates of Ellis Island — and epidemics broke out, they were often blamed on East European Jewish immigrants," he says.
It's important that government officials work"to coalesce the population — to make sure that we're all on the same page of what we need to do to keep ourselves and our children and our families safe — our communities safe," he says.
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