This comment is in reference to Chuck Mann’s letter to the Salisbury Post published in the Thursday edition of the Salisbury Post (“Healthy until proven sick”)

I would just like to say to him that he might want to look at the country of Italy. These people clearly were not prepared for this coronavirus. I’ve heard it also called a plague. The number of deaths in Italy is just unimaginable.

How do all these people get buried I wonder? The staggering numbers of the deceased is heartbreaking. So Mr. Mann, I don’t believe hugging and hand-shaking is the answer, not at this time anyway.

President Donald Trump’s advisors, including the Centers for Disease Control, have made recommendations and the U.S.A. has them in place. Our numbers speak for themselves for the U.S.A. in comparison to other countries. In a perfect world, your idea of people being healthy until proven sick might work. But the world is not perfect. There are lots of sick people, lots of disabled people, people with no immune system due to chemo and very young children along with many seniors. These people would be handed a death sentence if we didn’t have a president to care enough about the citizens of our country.

I suspect Mr. Mann, if you were one of these patients, you might see things differently. As for me, I am one of those with a compromised immune system. Believe me, if I catch this virus, I would never survive or recover from it. I will gladly stay away from a crowd, avoid hugging, handshaking, etc. As it is now in this world, I have to live in it. So, staying home and being more isolated until this virus has passed is good.

I do love your idea Mr. Mann, but this just isn’t the time.

— Gwen Johnson 

Salisbury