I think Republicans would do well to resist COVID fear porn entirely. Weird viruses circulate ALL the time. Haven't you ever talked to someone who said, "Yeah, I got this weird bug, sick for days, doctor didn't know what it was." Pretty sure the common cold (which can test "positive" for coronavirus, as some cold viruses ARE coronaviruses) is getting called COVID at least some of the time. States that resist the fear will grow economically, while those that don't will undercut their economies.