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Enough with the beach-scolding! It's not scientifically-sound and it's counterproductive. It's a virus—not a moral agent geared to smite people who dare enjoy themselves. Six months in, we *know* most risk is indoors. More knowledge, less baseless outrage. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/it-okay-go-beach/613849/
When I talk about beaches being safer, people say, what about bars and restaurants? YES LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT AND NOT THE BEACH. The beach scolding and clickbait has gotten so bad that even news about cities *without* beaches have pics of beaches. We can't be informed like this.
What happens when public health is driven by outrage and scolding, rather than evidence: We opened indoor restaurants and bars (both are high-risk!) but are closing down beaches that provide a safer outlet for people and support mental and physical health. https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1279429637207138307
This is terrible. We are many months in, and we know of many *actual* super spreader events. They are not happening outdoors. If the party afterwards is the concern, yes, let’s focus on warning people not to do that—not ban the less risky part of the day. https://twitter.com/antiqueseahorse/status/1279450604646080512
Exactly. The virus may be out-of-sight when we don’t have the indoor pictures—but it’s still spreading, and more effectively. If we’re worried people are going to bars later, let’s tell the truth and close down the bar. Public health thrives on real talk. https://twitter.com/justthefacts37/status/1279457213401178113
Many problems with the unscientific scolding of beach and park-goers. Indoor restaurants? No way. But if everything appears equally bad and banned, people will break the rules as they see fit rather than in an evidence-based way. We’re all worse off.
Public health can’t function assuming people don’t notice what’s actually going on. Remember how we screwed up the masks? Officials told us they were not useful, or even harmful, but we later learned all that was motivated by the shortage. Way to lose trust. Tell the truth.
It’s six months in. There are many papers studies and examples. Beaches and parks aren’t the high-risk settings. “What why can’t people just stay home?” Not everyone has space or a backyard. Outdoors is good for physical and mental health. Wind and sunshine reduce risk.
And all those distorted photo angles, the lenses that make it look more crowded than it actually is? Way to lose trust and messaging power. My mentions are full of people telling me a ventilator is waiting for me. Unscientific scaremongering doesn’t have potency though.
The epidemic devastates nursing homes, prisons, meat-packing plants. Epidemiologists find big clusters from indoor restaurants, bars, weddings. But where is this "grim reaper" dude and his retweets? Yeah, who you gonna believe, your lying eyes or the baseless scaremongering?
We cannot win against an epidemic if we cannot get the messaging right. A pandemic is a communication emergency. We need the full truth not the paternalism we got about masks; we need guidance about relative risk not scaremongering about beaches. Alas. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/07/it-okay-go-beach/613849/
What on earth does that very sparsely populated, vast beach have anything to do with this headline? Why are people still sharing these images? After months of epidemiological data showing the overwhelming importance of *indoor* transmission, this is straight up misinformation.
Yeah, pandemic theater that plays to the outrage not the science will not help us. The cluster are indoors—bars and restaurants especially. Most vulnerable populations are workers, especially in congregate settings, and people in prisons and nursing homes. https://twitter.com/gregg_walls/status/1279757382994845698
LOL me. In a local Facebook group, folks were freaking out over something close to zero risk—comparable to things we did without a thought before the pandemic—wrote a reply showing the extensive statistics and then looked at previous comments of sympathy-anxiety and.. deleted it.
In Feb/March, I was really frustrated as people dismissed something was clearly a real risk. I got treated like a needlessly anxious person. I was like, if a tsunami may be coming, please, let's be anxious. Now, it's flipped, there is overwhelming anxiety regardless of evidence.
*This* is what we should be talking about. The people at risk are the "essential workers" who can't work via zoom/slack, people in nursing homes and prisons, and people who attend crowded indoor places (restaurants/bars). We need to address the real risk. https://twitter.com/RanuDhillon/status/1279540201618993152
Doctor in CA says COVID patients are almost all people of color working in food plants, nursing homes or low-wage service jobs. What's the photo media uses to illustrate the crisis? A beach, where people are outdoors and spaced out. This is a form for misinformation. @RanuDhillon
*of misinformation. 
Of course, the correspondent is naturally posing in front of a beach! Never mind that the most risk is to low-wage workers, nursing home residents, food plant employees, prisoners and *indoor* bar and restaurant goers! A vast random beach!
Yes Princeton, NJ known for *checks notes* its lack of beaches. Either that, or everybody kept a really solid secret from me the year I spent at Princeton University. But whatever, bring on the beach scolding.
95% of COVID deaths in Sweden are from people over 60, and almost 70% are from people over 80 mostly because Sweden did a terrible job protecting nursing homes and the elderly. What's the picture in the NYT Sweden article? Young people outdoors—among the least risky activities.
Young people getting infected in CA are often low-wage essential workers or people who go to indoor bars/parties. Naturally, LATimes picks one of the least risky activities locals can do to illustrate “risk.” Gee, I wonder why public health messaging isn’t getting through. 
Text: The common denominator of the cases were that transmission happened indoors in restaurants and bars! Photo editor: "how about some people in bathing suits?" Someone? "Yes, sure go for it, we are here to misinform." https://twitter.com/hichaelmart/status/1282388807573295104
California is closing indoor restaurants and bars because the data show that’s where transmission occurs, along with workplaces. Of course, bring on the beach photos—there is not a single confirmed significant outbreak at a beach, but why let that stop us? https://twitter.com/xxiborza/status/1282814799152218112
Narrator: It's been months and there is NOT ONE KNOWN SUPERSPREADER EVENT IN A BEACH which makes sense because of sun & wind. Way to misinform, Washington Post photo editor. At this rate, we can't organize our way out of a paper bag, let alone a pandemic. https://twitter.com/suzyji/status/1284604361453297671
Article: "Superspreader events are indoors". Also article: "Top expert says he avoids buses and takes his walks by the sea." Photo editor: "We put photo of a beach, right?". Good job, @washingtonpost.
The inordinate focus on beaches is unscientific, counter-productive (scaring people away from safe outdoor activities) and, worse, hides the true dangers and real victims of this pandemic. Such a big failure, and there seem to be no way to stop it. https://twitter.com/RanuDhillon/status/1284883221289689089
Yes, let’s illustrate the crisis with widely-spaced people outdoors in a vast and sunny beach, @business. Very, very informative.
Doctors report that many of those infected with COVID are essential workers, many people of color, living in crowded housing. What does media fixate on? Young people doing safe and good things (outdoors, distanced exercise.) Triple whammy: erase victims, moralize, misinform.
Good one, @sfchronicle. Story is about *contact-tracing*. The photo is ::drumroll:: a telephoto beach picture from *two-months ago* where the caption even says what everyone can see: people are spread apart. These visuals are misinformation. h/t @sethjberman
