“So even if you run into your next door neighbor in the shopping center…don’t start up a conversation, now is the time for minimizing your interactions with others, even if you’ve got a mask, do not think that affords total protection,” she added.

This is interesting. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but I'm guessing this wasn't just an off-hand comment. They may or may not be losing the information war yet, but they're certainly concerned. It's a tad bit harder to track people's conversations offline than it is online, so they don't want people to have the opportunity to share information in a way that's harder to trace.