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Letter to the Editor: Caring for Fellow Weakley Countians

Dear Fellow Weakley Countians,
I offer just a few more words on face masks. Wearing a face mask has been shown to help prevent the wearer from passing the coronavirus to others. Masks probably also protect the wearer, but this protection is less robust. Roughly forty percent of the persons who contract the virus do so from asymptomatic carriers. For these reasons mask wearing in public places will be an important element in minimizing infections and death in our current phase of battling this virus. Governor Lee has asked that we all wear masks when we are around persons in public places where social distancing cannot be assured. The state is supplying free masks through the health departments.
Wearing a facemask should not be politicized. The virus does not care if you are Republican, Democratic or Independent. Wearing a face mask says you care about your fellow Weakley Countians. Not wearing one says the opposite.
A person asked me recently how I felt about the fact that eighty percent of persons dying of COVID-19 were sixty-five years old or older. I replied that this fact did not make me feel so good since I am over sixty-five. What I should have said is that we owe everything to these older people. They made us who we are and gave us everything we have. They are our precious people and are not expendable. Memorial Day makes us remember that so many have sacrificed so much for this country. Can we not make even the small sacrifice of the inconvenience of wearing a mask in public?
We, in this county, have done very well in our effort to limit the damage of the coronavirus to date. Let’s do what we can to protect each other and not face a major setback in this “opening back up” phase.
Sincerely,
Michael Hinds MD

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