Editor, Commonwealth:
Regarding Dr. Mary Carol Miller’s letter to the editor (“Death isn’t ‘big yawn’ to those affected,” April 10) and our national COVID-19 pandemic:
Thank you to Dr. Miller from our hearts for trying to keep our beloved citizens of Greenwood and the surrounding areas safe. My trust is in our local medical community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and men and women of the CDC and National Institutes of Health, and not in men such as Wyatt Emmerich and Clint Guenther, who have offered advice in conflict with our top medical advisers.
Dr. Miller was firm in her assessment of the situation, and we should take note. I have lived here all of my life. I know the score. Dr. Miller has well explained that this insidious virus is devastating. It can harm or kill our precious family members.
Opening up businesses and stopping home confinement will step up the infection rate of COVID-19 in our community. Some businesses in Greenwood are open and are taking strong precautions, and I applaud them for it. However, they are making radical changes as related to customers being able to come in and shop as usual. Thank you to those businesses.
Had this country gone into lockdown in January when we learned about what this virus was doing in other countries, we most likely would have been able to avoid so many deaths here. Elections have consequences. In January, February and even as late as March, Donald Trump was calling this virus a Democrat hoax and that it would be gone by April. What kind of leadership is that?
Sensing the danger to me and my loved ones, in February I was able to order four N95 masks at a very inflated price to protect my mom. At that time, they were extremely hard to find because China and other countries were buying up America’s supplies, leaving Americans with no supplies available to order.
Either we lock down and stay home for a while or we will suffer many more infections, including serious complications and even death. Medical professionals are now warning that complications from contracting the virus may last for many years, even a lifetime. The medical pros at Greenwood Leflore Hospital know this, and they have your best interests at heart. Please listen to them and Dr. Miller and thank those on the frontlines trying to save us all despite their own peril. We must wait this out. Loss of profits is not worth the loss of precious life, regardless of what Wyatt Emmerich and Clint Guenther tell you about opening back up for business and lessening stay-at-home practices.
Donald Trump has chosen to listen to his economic advisers over the advice of Dr. Fauci, the CDC and the NIH. I think his concern is for himself, his own profits and his re-election.
If you go out, please wear protective masks and gloves. Stay 10 feet away from others. Do not touch your face until you have properly removed gloves, masks and clothing and have washed your hands thoroughly. Wash your clothes and understand the virus may be on them when you handle them. We can take these precautions and up our chances of survival. Please do not listen to those who tout money over lives. Greenwoodians know who they are.
I write this, as did Dr. Miller, because we care about our fellow Greenwoodians, Leflore and Carroll countians. We care about you and I, for one, will never push profit over lives. To do so is unethical, immoral and ungodly, regardless of what some may tell you. Our economy will recover. The sooner we lock down, the sooner that will happen. Stay safe all.
Beverly Stout
Greenwood
