Your presumption is fairly incredible. (1) I wasn't talking to you and (2) maybe that person would rather be informed than bamboozled with feel good news that ends up being false.
Basic decency is to assume that people can think for themselves and do not need to be treated like toddlers with feel good lies and cotton balls.
Along the lines of assuming people can think for themselves, the person who originally commented clearly knew that there was a possibility that their surgery would be cancelled. They expressed as much in their comment. What did your blunt speculation add? You know less about the situation than the person you were replying to, and on the basis of that ignorance jumped to an unfounded conclusion.
I would have written what you said this way: "you should reach out to your doctor. In my neighborhood a lot of surgeries have been getting cancelled." It is not one whit less truthful or honest than your comment, but it is more sensitive, at least to my ear.
Your approach to this thread calls to mind an imaginary surgeon who leaves the OR and tells the family, "sorry, he's dead." Nothing wrong with that bedside manner, is there? No need to treat them like toddlers.
I'm finished with this. I've said my piece and you disagree. Ah, well.
You are ignoring the fact that there are official calls to suspend all non-emergency surgery and that there are a lot of hospitals already doing this. My comment was meant informative, not to put that person down.
Basic decency is to assume that people can think for themselves and do not need to be treated like toddlers with feel good lies and cotton balls.