A recent letter to the editor entitled, “Democrats Use Virus As Plan to Defeat Trump”
requires a response. The author of the letter alludes to prior outbreaks that did not require such drastic measures and were taken in stride.
Take a look at the states that instituted aggressive mitigation including closing schools, businesses and stay-at-home orders early on. I’m referring to Washington and California.
Now look at South Dakota where the governor (as of April 15) has still not issued statewide stay-at-home and social distancing measures. The Smithfield food processing plant in Sioux Falls is closed with hundreds of its workers testing positive for COVID-19 and threatening
to unleash a mini hot spot in that city and surrounding counties.
Can you recall seeing hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units being overrun when the prior “flu” epidemics circulated?
When was the last time you saw nurses, doctors and first responders get sick and die in the course of caring for ill patients? This novel coronavirus does not care about one’s political affiliation. There is no vaccine and no proven effective treatment.
If left unchecked and half the population got infected, more than a million people would die. The solution to this public health calamity will be provided by the scientists and public health officials as long as the politicians get out of the way.
Robert Weiss
Marlboro