Letters to the Editor, July 24

Open letter to City Council

I watched the majority of yesterday's special County Commissioner's meeting to discuss whether or not to impose a mask mandate. While the comments from the public seemed to me to clearly reflect their politics, the important point that came out is that the commissioners supported mask wearing.

I won't pretend that I know much more than any other lay person when it comes to medicine and epidemiology in particular, however, when I see that the largest city in the country with, by far, the highest density of population, effectively "beat" Covid-19, there was no magic to it: New Yorkers were asked to stay home, wear masks in public, and businesses were forced to sacrifice for the greater good.

As it pertains to our situation on Marco: I always felt when I served on council that the number-one responsibility was to protect the health and welfare of our citizenry. As Florida's numbers are rapidly moving us to possibly overtake New York in total number of cases, and as our death rate continues to rise disproportionately, you need to ask yourself "what can I do?".

The answer is simple: (1) close the beaches as clearly people do not use personal responsibility; (2) support the county with a mask ordinance; (3) impose a shut-down. I recognize it's an extremely difficult balancing act between health and revenue but having money and dieing or watching a loved one die is not an acceptable alternative.

You have no upcoming Council Meetings; it would not be difficult to call for a Special Meeting and show leadership, politics be damned!

Larry Sacher, Marco Island

Wake up Floridians

We have a killer on the loose and we don’t seem to be doing enough to stop it. The University of Washington predicts that 220,000 citizens of the USA will die. That’s another 80,000 of our fellow citizens. We can’t just sit back and wait for the medical profession to come up with a vaccine to stop this virus. They keep telling us they need time to develop the vaccine.

When we have a medical emergency we call 911. Well 911 is calling us. They need our help to slow down the virus and give them the time it takes to develop a vaccine.

Our president won’t mandate the use of a mask.

Our governor won’t mandate the use of a mask.

The business community has stepped up. Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Target, Lowes, Krogers and many others are now requiring a mask to enter their store and keep social distancing.

It is now time for we the people to help ourselves and each other. We can slow down the virus by wearing a mask in public, by keeping social distancing and by staying out of large crowds.

The alternative will be another shelter in place and that will destroy the economy. Restaurants will be forced to close and again the economy will tank.

It is time for us to step up and help ourselves and our neighbors!

Herbert Jermanok, Marco island