Dear Editor:

I realize to many the COVID-19 pandemic is a lot of fuss about nothing. I see many of my neighbors walking about without masks or social distancing. So far, the state of Iowa has been fortunate, but luck cannot last.

A case in point, Italy, a country of over 60 million people, on July 15, had 156 cases (Italy was mocked for its poor response to the pandemic). Iowa, on July 15, had 206 cases. We have a population a little over 3 million.

These are not good results for Iowa, which doesn’t have a hospital system like other states (or Italy for that matter) that are now facing severe outbreaks (Florida is a good example).

I had a conversation with a business owner today who only has staff masking part time. The owner did a survey and decided masks were only needed a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening “to protect the vulnerable.”

A sick employee with COVID-19 (say an asymptomatic one), is for several hours of that employee’s shift spreading a virus. That’s almost as bad as not masking at all, and it’s a lack of understanding about how this virus works.

COVID-19 is not a part-time thing. We have had 759 people die so far. School is starting soon. In a few months it will start to get cooler, stuff will move indoors. It WILL get worse.

Please, for those of you for whom a mask has become a political issue, as a veteran, I am asking you to “step up and mask up.” A mask is an annoyance that says “I give a damn about YOU.” It is not weakness. In the service we had each other’s back. We can do the same for our neighbors. Thank you.

Douglas Fugate

Wellman