Each day state health officials send us their grim news about covid-19.
How many more of us have been infected with the disease, how many have died, even the number of those they think but aren’t sure have the virus.
We don’t suspect their intentions. They aim to warn you.
But not some of the media.
Screaming headlines and breathless broadcasts about covid-19 just peddle fear.
Some of us fear going to the grocery store or even their doctors. Many experience psychological trauma and depression.
To make it worse, some of the media circulate misinformation, false claims and fake news.
We should suspect their motives in an election year.
Be reassured. Your chances of dying from covid-19 are relatively small. Evidence is growing that the virus has been with us longer than we even knew. 
Reports from the west coast indicate it may have been in the US since December. 
Doctors there saw patients with flu like symptoms but tests revealed it wasn’t flu.
Testing for covid-19 did not begin until February.  We went from zero to over 33 million tests. As of last week, 606,610 of us have been tested in SC.
CDC statistics show that US health officials are doing 600,000 to 700,000 tests a day.
In SC, 11,257 of us were tested in a single day last week. Of those, 17.4% tested positive as infected. That means 82.6% tested negative as virus free.
In specific terms, 1,958 of us tested positive and 9,298 of us tested negative as virus free.
SC health officials reported 6,760 cases in 7 Midlands counties as of July 3,including Lexington and Richland counties.
That’s less than .01% of the estimated population of 837,092. That means more than 830,000 of us are not infected.
A less than .01% death rate means we’re doing a lot right.
SC hospitals report 1,125 covid patients of the 7,830 other patients. 2,836 beds available.
These are the facts.
We welcome your thinking on this challenging subject. Please write JerryBellune@yahoo.com