We all agree that this is unbelievablely disrespectful, and we should keep saying so.

But I want to talk about why this is also dangerous misinformation. https://twitter.com/kloeffler/status/1313201217309417478

In their rush to declare Trump’s personal “victory” over COVID, GOP are misleading Americans about what this illness is actually like,

even further endangering Americans’ health.

Yeah, I know, this isn’t new.

But based on a lot of comments I’ve seen these weekend, a lot of you who are highly critical of Trump are among those being misled,

and don’t realize it

so please, for your sake and that of those you love, keep reading.

Now, I’m not a medical expert, so please keep that in mind.

But there haven’t been a lot of accessible explainers out there since this first started, and no one else seems to be doing them. And they are clearly needed. So.

The first thing to know is that the virus has an incubation period, and you are actually at your most contagious near the end of that period, right before you get sick.

Most of you do already know that, but it’s worth repeating.

This is why contact tracing and isolation if you even MIGHT have been exposed, matters

Because you honestly won’t know - even if you take a test! - for likely days after you’ve been exposed.

But you could be infecting other people during that time.

This period usually is about 3 days, but has a wide range of possibilities.

The 10 (or 14) day self-quarantine is based on THIS range, not how long you are contagious after contracting the virus, or start showing symptoms.

If you do test positive, or show symptoms, the rules and count for quarantine change.

Now, for the part a lot of you seem to be unaware of:

The course of this illness is extremely uneven and often very, very long.

Even if you are never hospitalized.

I know we’ve all heard the cautionary and heartbreaking stories of the people who went to a party, caught covid there, and were dead within days.

That can happen, but it makes the news precisely because it’s rare.

What is more common is for people to feel increasingly unwell for several days, then start to feel somewhat better for a few more...and then feel worse again.

Many have said that second round was worse than the first.

Sometimes people don’t have that second hump, and recover quickly.

But experiencing it is extremely typical.

From there, people tend to either take a serious turn for the worse (this is actually when most hospitalizations occur, I believe?)

or get better...but often slowly and with their health and especially energy often continuing to fluctuate.

That part can last weeks or months.

And here’s the other important thing: there’s evidence that rest during this period, even during the “feeling better” parts of it, is essential to recovery.

But of course the GOP, in order to win the news cycle and pander to the fascist’s ego, are telling the American people that this is not at all how COVID works, or is “defeated.”

They aren’t just telling people to forgo wearing a mask, or taking other basic precautions...

They are encouraging those who do get sick to act in ways that further endanger their health.

They are discouraging caution and rest, and encouraging people to rudh back into activities before they are ready.

(Not to mention regardless of if they are still contagious.)

I, on the other hand, care about you all, and I if you do get sick,

I don’t want you to worry, but I do need you to be super cautious until you are past your first two weeks after developing symptoms.