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To the editor:

I am writing in response to the editorial titled “Don’t let guard down,” published here on March 28.

Let’s be honest — were our guards up to begin with?

On increased vaccinations and decreased positive tests:

In this unprecedented situation, one might opine that first-person experience outdoes scientific fact. To be trustworthy, collected data requires that everything is in order. In this case, it requires people to be vaccinated, which has its own variables — say, waiting times. It also requires records of who was tested positive, or negative, or who wasn’t tested at all.

Our eyes aren’t bound by any of these stipulations. Our eyes have seen people inside retail stores, maskless. They’ve seen those with masks forgetting or disregarding social distancing guidelines. They’ve seen the corporate level of our businesses putting the signs up, but disallowing any form of denial of service a la “The customer is always right.”

Gov. Ralph Northam and our state slowly loosening, rather than tightening, COVID restrictions is somewhat baffling. Then again, it is too late to be tightening restrictions that went unenforced to begin with.

The reaction to the outbreak at the state, community and national level has shown that, in a time of absolute crisis, we can be counted on to do the most convenient thing.

If there is a single positive about the COVID outbreak, it’s that it is one of the most teachable moments this nation has seen.

 

Austin Quinn

Smithfield