Wearing a mask is the patriotic thing to do
To the editor:
Florida is having a rough time. The number of people infected with the COVID-19 virus keeps going up, while the number of intensive care unit beds available keeps going down. On the news today, I heard that two out of four Lee County hospitals had no ICU beds available, and that a total of 9 were available county-wide. Our people are suffering. Our hospitals are suffering. Our businesses are suffering. What can we do?
Donald Trump says we can wear a mask. In a communication to the public released today via his preferred platform on Twitter, he said “…many people say it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance.” This was accompanied by a photograph of himself wearing a mask. The tweet continued “there is nobody more patriotic than me…” So it appears that now the most patriotic thing you can do is to wear a face mask. This is because everyone knows that is the only way to stop spreading the virus and get us all back to normal.
Lee County has a high percentage of people sick with COVID-19 compared to the rest of Florida and the United States. We would love to re-open our businesses and see our kids go back to school, but first we have to get this under control. How can we do that? Donald Trump agrees with the scientists — wear a mask in public when you can’t do social distancing. Not wearing one is definitely unpatriotic. Not wearing one says, “I don’t care about my country or my community, what’s happening now is fine with me.”
Well it’s not fine with businesses, parents, families and patriots. Time to get with it. Time to ask the Lee County Board of Commissioners to protect our people and our businesses by adopting a mask mandate. According to Donald Trump, it’s the patriotic thing to do.
Isabel Francis, MPA, MSN, RN
Bokeelia