Fear seems to have taken a mighty grip on lakesiders this week.

Word got out that a foreigner in San Juan Cosála had been the identified as the first “confirmed” local victim of Covid-19, and it spread out like wildfire. Problem is that the original source of the information was never properly identified.

Nonetheless, the unverified story was replicated endlessly on Facebook, until Wednesday night when Jocotepec’s mayor publicly declared that four suspected cases in his municipality tested as negative by state health authorities.

It’s valid to wonder if these might be false negative results. The point is, who are people inclined to trust for accurate information?

For now, I’m banking on reports from the state government and Governor Enrique Alfaro, who has vowed to be truthful and forthright with constituents, no matter how awful the pandemic gets.

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