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Editor, News-Register:
I have seen devoted sons visit their aging, frail mothers unprotected and in denial of the COVIT19 pandemic. Unprotected in this writing means wearing a mask and keeping a social distance.
I have seen elderly men and women, unprotected, congregate like before the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have seen eight or more adults, unprotected, congregate in from of a residence as if it were a block party.
I have seen teenagers, unprotected, walking in groups of two or more.
I have seen bicyclists, unprotected, riding shoulder to shoulder.
I have seen grocery shoppers unprotected, congregating in aisles and queueing as if it were a normal shopping day.
I have seen unprotected, food take-out and grocery clerks as they were serving the public.
I have seen a panting jogger, unprotected, brush shoulders with an unaware walker, when running by.
What does the aforementioned mean? It means death for the vulnerable, a suffocating sickness for some; it means unknowingly transmitting the virus. It means deadly ignorance and/or denial the aforementioned participants own, which cannot be tolerated when lives are at stake.
It may seem to many residents that the upper Ohio Valley remains untouched, but the COVID-19 coronavirus, is here: The number of infections have not been reported due to lack of access to testing, lack of testing facilities, and lack of public urgency to test for the virus; lack of local and state politicians sounding the alarm.
The aforementioned deniers and unprotected must look at surrounding states and the nation's hotspots, and presume it will strike Ohio Valley residents -- first the ailing seniors, smokers, obese individuals, chronically ill children, and black lung miners and simultaneously strike the unhealthy disenfranchised and homeless.
This is what we Ohio Valley residents face if an epidemic breaks out: If we contract COVID-19, can we get a test? If infected can we get into a hospital? If so, will there be a bed, a ventilator, protective masks, or even enough medical providers to care for us? Can we afford the treatment? Who will hear our last words? Will there be a funeral home to take us? Will there be a grave to bury us? This time is truly a national nightmare, waiting outside the upper Ohio Valley's open door.
Facial masks and social distancing do reduce the number of infections; those cities and countries practicing safeguards are reporting reductions in COVID-19 infections.
Some of the onus placed on the general public should go to the City of Wheeling and Wheeling Hospital for placing limitations on their test site at Wheeling Park; it should operate 24/7 and be open to all Ohio Valley residents who have a COVID-19 concern; track the virus and isolate it. Needing a physician's slip is a stumbling block for many; overloading the state's testing capability with more tests is an unacceptable excuse during this national disaster.
Sonny Fair
Wheeling