In the pursuit of truth as humans, we have partial understanding, insight, and revelation. We study the pictures, the things that we know as reality, including ourselves and others, to discern truth. The world and the things of the world reflect the truth, if and when we can see them as they are. The more we align our thinking and experience to genuine openness to the actual, the closer we move to Truth. But there are many aspects to the human experience that move us away from truth. We relish our own ideas from a sense of separateness. Modern society has become so complex that the truth, to borrow from Al Gore, can be "inconvenient". And the truth, as the ancient Hindu poet Lalla lamented, can sometimes be as painful as a blister on the heart. We can deceive ourselves and others because of social pressure and confused value systems. Both desire and fear, emotions that obscure truth, can put us in a place where we in turn are deceived by others out of misplaced trust or even lack of experience. All these factors play a part in the Pandemic, adding to mis-interpretation of information, along with deliberate misinformation. The affirmation of truth as a value, is a compass and a reminder, to stay open to seeing things as they actually are as our attention shifts from concrete reality to transcendent spiritual reality and back again.
In Maya Angelou's both intense and inspiring poem (link below), she lays bare the conflicting images of humanity's struggle to fulfill the "possibility and imperative of learning the truth". Although written in 1995 it's themes of peace and survival apply to our Pandemic world.
https://www.melodicverses.com/poems/32869/A-Brave-And-Startling-Truth