Background

In November 2019, a new virus (now called the SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 virus) began circulating in or near Wuhan, China. The virus causes the COVID-19 disease. The disease has since spread to multiple countries globally and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. As we deal with this new threat, it is important to separate fact from fiction. So, below is a list of sites I believe should be viewed as reputable sources of accurate information.

Where To Begin

• An ER Physician shares advice with his friends and family – 1) Practice social/physical distancing, 2) Masks (something to protect your face from your hands), 3) Hand Washing / Sanitizing, 4) Don’t Touch Your Face, 5) If you’re ill, then isolate, and 6) If your short of breath, go to the hospital
• A video explaining exponential growth. The concept is interesting because it means that something can grow from relatively small to something extremely big, seemingly overnight
• A good summary of what we know about COVID-19 (as of March 15, 2020). This is a podcast discussion between two physicians who discuss various aspects of COVID-19

Sources for COVID-19 Information

• MedCram Pandemic Video Playlist – A doctor providing daily updates with a lot of good information about the virus. The videos are very informative
• Peak Prosperity Corona Virus Updates Playlist – Good, almost daily updates on statistics, research, and the perspective of the research by Dr. Chris Martenson
• Dr. Campbell’s Daily Updates – A UK-based researcher provides updates on metrics, insights, and other observations.
• Dr. Vuong’s Updates – a US-based physician provides updates on the virus. His message is delivered with much more “punch” than other physicians.
• This Week In Virology – A podcast with doctors discussing the latest on virology and the COVID-19 virus
• r/COVID19 Subreddit – There are several virus–related subreddits on reddit, but this one is the most heavily moderated for scientific and academic information
• Coronavirus Resources & Readings – A good listing that points to lots of medical, science, and public health resources
• Your city, county or state health and human services web site
• Science Matters: Let’s Talk About COVID-19 (online course) – This is a free online course from Imperial College in London, a leading U.K. university. They are literally writing the course in real-time. So, some of the material might be a few weeks dated and other material has yet to be written

Dashboards and Statistics

• COVID-19 Global Case Dashboard – This dashboard is developed by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins
• Worldometer – Another good source of COVID-19 summary statistics
• COVID19 Health Data – A site that shows projections (eg, cases, peaks, capacity). Projections can be filtered by country or by state (US)

Simulations

• Exponential growth and epidemics – A good video by 3Blue1Brown that explains exponential growth. I think watching this video will provide some context behind why counties have issued shelter-in-place orders and why it’s so important to wash your hands and practice social (or physical) distancing
• Flatten The Curve Simulator – A good site that simulates how different variables might change the infection rate
• Another simulation – This is another good video by 3Blue1Brown that illustrates various interventions and how they can affect virus spread

Sites No Longer Recommended

• r/Coronavirus Subreddit – Another informative subreddit. However, it is not quite as heavily moderated as r/COVID19. [Updated March 26, 2020] Unfortunately, this subreddit has no or low moderation and is no longer a reliable source of information

#BeSafeBePreparedStayConnected
#Masks4All

Last Updated: April 8, 2020

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Steven B. Bryant is a futurist, researcher, and author who investigates the innovative application and strategic implications of science and technology on society and business. He is also a computer science graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he is specializing in machine learning and interactive intelligence. Steven is the author of DISRUPTIVE: Rewriting the rules of physics, which is a thought–provoking book that shows where relativity fails and introduces Modern Mechanics, a unified model of motion that fundamentally changes how we view modern physics. DISRUPTIVE is available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and other booksellers!