Older Americans, more prevalent in rural areas and more susceptible to covid-19, weigh warnings; many are skeptical

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"As the coronavirus continues its spread across the world and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that older Americans are among those who face the highest risk of hospitalization and death, retirees from Florida to Alaska are weighing whether to continue living their normal lives or do whatever it takes to preserve them," report Darryl Fears and Brady Dennis of The Washington Post. That's of special concern in rural America, where the population is older than average.

The writers report from The Villages, a Florida complex that is one of the largest retirement communities in the United States. Most residents responding to a survey on the development's Facebook page said the crisis is being overblown. "Against mounting advice from federal and private health experts, many expressed a determination to move forward with travel excursions, such as cruises," they report. "A significant number of other residents said they were heeding experts’ advice and canceling cruise reservations, or at least waiting to see whether cruise lines would do so."

Health experts and public officials have warned that people over 60 and those with underlying medical conditions are the most susceptible to the virus. Some think rural areas may be more vulnerable due to a shortage of health-care services, while others think the lower population density in rural areas means the virus will spread more slowly there. But rural people are more regular worshipers, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked churches to cancel services after the state's first cluster of covid-19 patients, from rural Harrison County, were found to have a church connection.