In times of crisis, whether it is hurricanes or now a pandemic, some Collier County commissioners have taken to email newsletters to keep constituents up to date and informed.

Both commissioners Andy Solis and Penny Taylor have sent out daily or near-daily emails for weeks, filling in residents on the latest actions of county government related to the novel coronavirus, sharing information from health officials and answering questions from constituents.

Commissioner Donna Fiala, too, has addressed the issue in her monthly newsletter.

But perhaps no commissioner has been a more prolific newsletter composer since cases began to swell in the United States than Taylor. Her first COVID-19 "bulletin" landed in subscribers' inboxes on March 3, more than a week before Collier County reported its first three cases.

Since then, many more bulletins have followed and as the crisis intensified the updates grew longer.

Constituents have so far largely lauded Taylor's newsletter, sent from her official government email to 1,934 subscribers, and the information it brings. But her decision last week to include an excerpt from a lengthy Facebook post by Alfie Oakes, the owner of Oakes Farms and Seed to Table, that downplays the seriousness of the pandemic has drawn sharp criticism.

Readers questioned the use of a government newsletter to disseminate a non-expert's opinion, calling it a "disservice" and "hugely irresponsible." Some worried that conflicting information could create skepticism and complacency among residents.

On Alfie Oakes:Oakes Farms Seed to Table owner says he's following governor's order

Medical community weighs in

Parts of the excerpt, for instance, compare the mortality rate of COVID-19 to that of the common flu, but medical professionals have said it is "misguided" to compare the number of deaths from the influenza virus and from the novel coronavirus.

Health officials have repeatedly warned that the novel coronavirus is not like an ordinary flu, and Taylor, too, agrees with that assessment.

"This is more than the regular flu," Taylor told the Daily News in an interview earlier this week, adding that the novel coronavirus is a highly infectious, contagious disease.

And yet, the excerpt she shared from Oakes in her March 25 newsletter states the "media continues to sensationalize the magnitude and deadly nature" of the virus.

The excerpt went on to falsely claim that the mortality rate of COVID-19 is "very low" compared to the normal flu season in the United States. Oakes wrote that the global coronavirus death toll "pales in comparison to the deaths from a typical flu season," citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates of 61,000 deaths during the 2017-18 flu season.

"It is misguided to compare the number of deaths from the influenza virus to COVID-19," the board of directors for the Collier County Medical Society said in an emailed response to questions by the Daily News about the claims in the newsletter excerpt.

The group previously urged Taylor and other commissioners to issue a stay-at-home order and close nonessential businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

But commissioners — arguing that the order's many exemptions were swallowing the rule — decided not to enact the proposed order during an emergency meeting two days after Taylor's March 25 newsletter. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced similar statewide measures, after weeks of refusing to do so.

"COVID-19 is not only more contagious, but more deadly — we do not have a vaccine, we do not have medications to treat it, and at the same time we have very poor testing availability," the medical society's board of directors wrote. "Yes, at the present time COVID-19 has killed fewer people than the known influenza virus, but the numbers are rapidly rising."

'A point of view'

The White House on Tuesday released estimates that between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans could die from the virus, a number that officials predicted could be higher if the nation doesn't continue to hunker down and abide by strict social guidelines.

Taylor said she was simply sharing a person's viewpoint, one she doesn't necessarily endorse but parts of which she agrees with, including that some media reports have been "sensationalizing" the virus.

"It's a point of view. It's an undercurrent," Taylor said. "It's part of what's going on in our community."

But the excerpt she shared — the only such social media post included in her newsletters to date, although she linked to an article by an epidemiologist a few days later — repeatedly draws comparisons that experts say are not appropriate.

Parts of Oakes' social media post included in Taylor's newsletter point to South Korea's response to the pandemic, stating that the country had "great success" fighting the pandemic "without drama or chaos."

But the United States' response has been far from that in South Korea, and it is "impossible" to expect the same results here, in large part due to a lack of resources, medical professionals say.

"South Koreans clearly understood that the best way to combat a pandemic was to isolate those who were sick or exposed," the medical society board wrote. "They did not have to fully close their economy because they had significantly more testing and preparation."

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In Collier, meanwhile, "we do not accurately know who is sick and who has been exposed as we do not have enough COVID-19 tests," the board wrote, adding that physicians have been told to only test those "at high risk" because of the test shortage.

"We have been sent to battle with limited weapons and equipment, so it is impossible to expect the same results as South Korea," the board wrote. "We have to make up for the lack of testing in other ways, such as sheltering in place."

The mortality rate of the novel coronavirus depends on the measures taken to prevent and treat it, the board said. The virus spreads quickly and by the time the "ill outpace the amount of medical resources of any city, the fatalities rapidly increase," as has been the case in northern Italy, they wrote.

"China and South Korea were able to keep the mortality rate low by flattening the infectious curve and implementing a strict level of quarantine on those who tested positive or had exposure to an infected patient," the board wrote. "In the U.S. there has been a tragic lack of testing and extreme delays on getting results."

While China and South Korea have experienced "a very low" death rate, Italy and Spain has seen death rates "around 10 percent," the medical society board continued. The mortality rate in Collier "will heavily depend on the measures taken by our elected officials to lower the curve of infections," they said.

As of Thursday, Collier had reported 161 cases of COVID-19, up from three cases three weeks ago on March 11. Collier has had one confirmed death from the virus and neighboring Lee County has had 10.

Taylor defends using Oakes' post

Taylor said Oakes had asked her if she would include his post in her newsletter and she agreed. She shortened it because the original was long and she didn't want to include "his personal political views."

She said she has heard similar sentiments from others in the community and that Oakes, in many ways, represents "the voice of many large employers" in the area, especially in the food industry.

When asked if she was concerned that constituents might see the excerpt in the newsletter and question what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health officials are saying, Taylor said she was "not worried about that at all."

"Because these are voices that need to be heard," she said. "I called it 'A Point of View' for a reason."

Taylor said the post was already "public information" since Oakes had made it public on Facebook, which means anyone could see or share it, and that she trusts individuals "to make up their minds."

"It's an opinion. It needs to be out there," she said. "There's a difference of opinion out there that I felt is important to be heard."

Taylor said she agrees with the CDC's guidelines and said people should follow those and the governor's orders. "These are my guiding principles right now," she said.

However, she said she didn't believe in stoking fear. Taylor said she has come across instances of reports "sensationalizing" the issue, where sometimes personal emotions are being injected into reporting and "objectivity is not being practiced."

"I think it could be done differently," she said. "Am I saying it's being done to sell more papers? I wouldn't go that far."

That has happened not so much in written reports, Taylor said, but in some cases on radio broadcasts. She named National Public Radio as an example and said she has heard "heaving" or "sighing" in some radio broadcasts.

"Sometimes I have to turn it off," Taylor said. "It's like, 'Get a grip.'"

Community questions

But Taylor's decision to include Oakes' comments in her newsletter led to swift and harsh criticism from some. Readers questioned why the opinion was being disseminated in a government newsletter, called it irresponsible and argued that the advice of experts should be heeded.

"I’m irritated by the use of his opinion to headline an informative government newsletter that is for all your constituents regardless of beliefs," Elizabeth Yanson wrote Taylor.

"I would never tell Mr. Oakes how to run his business," she continued. "I also believe we should listen to the experts (doctors and scientists) who have no stake in the matter how to deal with this terrible virus. It is not the media who is blowing this crisis out of proportion. They are only reporting what the experts — not the politicians — are saying."

Others pointed out that the previous virus bulletins had "so far stuck to the facts."

"If you are going to turn them into carriers for 'opinion' pieces that stray dramatically from the facts, then they are without value to your constituents," Nancy Kreisler wrote.

What does the safer-at-home order mean for you?:We're answering your questions.

Michael Savarese, a Florida Gulf Coast University professor of marine science and environmental studies, wrote Taylor that "conflicting information generates skepticism or complacency among our county's citizens."

"The science is clear: Social distancing and, more importantly, nonessential business shutdowns are necessary to slow the pandemic’s spread, reduce the number of persons requiring intensive care, preventing the overwhelming of hospital facilities, and ultimately reduce the number of fatalities," he added.

Connect with the reporter at patrick.riley@naplesnews.com or on Twitter @PatJRiley.

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