Letter to the Editor: We must each act responsibly

To the editor,


COVID-19 is an extremely contagious virus (3M+ cases in US, 451 in the Valley), often debilitating and sometimes fatal ( 136K+ deaths in US, 10 in the Valley).  At the current time there is no cure or vaccine and no amount of Presidential “happy talk” or wishful thinking is going to make it go away.  For the foreseeable future we are going to have to live with this disease in the same way that we live with the threat of wildfires.  We do this with a combination of government guidance/mandates and responsible individual actions.


Eventually a vaccine will be developed, but until then we must each act responsibly.  The proven way to corral COVID-19 and enable us to regain control of our lives is through wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding large gatherings especially indoors and practicing hand hygiene. To not follow these simple but effective measures, for whatever reason, is to be just as irresponsible as the camper who “needs” that campfire during a fire ban or the drunk who gets behind the wheel. Please stay safe.


Martin Danko
South Fork