If they are taking it seriously now and encouraging others to take it seriously, why does it matter that they make a public statement that they were "wrong?"
At a time like this, I'm shocked by how many people seem to be so heavily invested in being able to gloat "I told you so."
As a society, we have become overly invested in proving ourselves right and others wrong. I think in the middle of any life threatening crisis, that should be the last thing on anyone's mind.