> Case in point the incubation period from your own link. "Most estimates of the incubation period range from 1-14 days, most commonly around five days. These estimates are updated as more information becomes available."
Yes, it continues to become more accurate. Initial reports thought the incubation period could be up to 20-30 days. Continued study of the virus has refined the numbers and will continue to do so.
> How long does it remain on the surface. "It is not certain how long the virus survices on surfaces."
Interesting that you purposefully leave out the rest of the quote:
"It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).
If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose."
> How deadly is the coronavirus? "We don’t yet know."
Again, you leave out the rest of the quote and this one has hard numbers behind it as the infection, recovery, and mortality rates are being tracked internationally.
"As of February 25, 2020, the reported confirmed cases and deaths in China suggest the mortality rate is roughly 3%. It is important to remember that early on in an epidemic there is a “tip of the iceberg” phenomenon where we overestimate more severe cases and mild or asymptomatic cases go unrecognized, so the mortality seems higher than the reality. That may be happening when we speak of up to 3% mortality. By contrast, SARS had a mortality rate of around 10%; the MERS mortality rate is closer to 30% to 40%. There appear to be many more COVID-19 cases confirmed than there were with SARS and MERS."
> Can I catch the virus by eating food prepared by others? "It's not clear if this is possible."
Yet another misleading partial quote.
"It’s not clear if this is possible, but if so it would be more likely to be the exception than the rule. That said, COVID-19 and other coronaviruses have been detected in the stool of certain patients, so we currently cannot rule out the possibility of occasional transmission from infected food handlers. The virus would likely be killed by cooking the food."
None of these are "guesses". They are scientific observations backed by evidence. Stop spreading misinformation. You claimed that we "know next to nothing about this virus" which is simply not true.
Where you see certainty I see ambiguity. None of what you are reading in those links confirms your forceful statement of facts where no such facts exist.
Nothing about any of the posted information is ambiguous. On the other hand, you decided to extract partial quotes that fit your narrative in a way to be purposefully deceptive.
Researchers saying "we are not completely certain but the evidence appears to indicate X" is not logically equivalent to "we have no idea why X happens"
> Case in point the incubation period from your own link. "Most estimates of the incubation period range from 1-14 days, most commonly around five days. These estimates are updated as more information becomes available."
Yes, it continues to become more accurate. Initial reports thought the incubation period could be up to 20-30 days. Continued study of the virus has refined the numbers and will continue to do so.
> How long does it remain on the surface. "It is not certain how long the virus survices on surfaces."
Interesting that you purposefully leave out the rest of the quote:
"It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).
If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose."
> How deadly is the coronavirus? "We don’t yet know."
Again, you leave out the rest of the quote and this one has hard numbers behind it as the infection, recovery, and mortality rates are being tracked internationally.
"As of February 25, 2020, the reported confirmed cases and deaths in China suggest the mortality rate is roughly 3%. It is important to remember that early on in an epidemic there is a “tip of the iceberg” phenomenon where we overestimate more severe cases and mild or asymptomatic cases go unrecognized, so the mortality seems higher than the reality. That may be happening when we speak of up to 3% mortality. By contrast, SARS had a mortality rate of around 10%; the MERS mortality rate is closer to 30% to 40%. There appear to be many more COVID-19 cases confirmed than there were with SARS and MERS."
> Can I catch the virus by eating food prepared by others? "It's not clear if this is possible."
Yet another misleading partial quote.
"It’s not clear if this is possible, but if so it would be more likely to be the exception than the rule. That said, COVID-19 and other coronaviruses have been detected in the stool of certain patients, so we currently cannot rule out the possibility of occasional transmission from infected food handlers. The virus would likely be killed by cooking the food."
None of these are "guesses". They are scientific observations backed by evidence. Stop spreading misinformation. You claimed that we "know next to nothing about this virus" which is simply not true.