Wants more facts from our leaders
We are in the midst of a national emergency.
Emergency, you say? Really? Have we ever had daily press briefings on anything else? Um, no. In fact, until the virus began to really spread on American soil there had not been a press briefing – at all – in over a year.
But we’re having them daily now. After five states have basically gone into quarantine with more surely to follow. And, since I first wrote this sentence 20 hours ago, four more have.
Why then did President Trump waste my time Friday by referring to the State Department as the “Deep State Department?” That served only to insult a lot of dedicated career people. Why do I have to hear daily of the greatness of everything the task force is doing? I don’t care about any of that. Just give me information. Just tell us what you’re doing to help us. That your team is routing more masks, more test kits, more protective clothing to which specific states – that you are on top of the details. Or that, at least, someone is.
Honestly, I generally feel worse after the president’s remarks, not better. I am 67 years old and though I think of myself as being relatively healthy, thus more resistant than most my age, I also see cases where healthy people in their 30’s die from this virus. There were 9,000 confirmed cases in the U.S. Thursday morning. Sunday morning there were 27,000. Mississippi has 140 confirmed cases and 1 death. I have no confidence that there are not thousands in our state. Who’s systematically checking? How would we know?
Instead of feeling like a corner is getting turned in this country, I am counting down until the next state goes into lockdown. Will we?
And waiting for the first signs of a fever. Guess I’ll just self-quarantine if that happens. I have great confidence in our local health care people but it’s unclear still whether or not they have the resources they need to test and care for patients under the current circumstances.
Paul Mack
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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