Coronavirus is changing Fort Worth’s ebb and flow. Is it overhyped?
Hoarding hurts others, too
To those hoarding toilet paper: If you need 144 rolls for a 14-day isolation, you probably needed medical care before the virus hit. And to those who have bought out the Cheerios: What will the rest of us do for breakfast?
- Rick Weintraub, Mansfield
Masks protect the workers
Should all employees of area grocery and department stores be issued N95 masks? We are in constant close contact with customers, any one of whom could be a carrier of the coronavirus.
- Dennis Berrong, Watauga
Turn the answers over
In this day of encouraging digital readership, it amazes me that the Sunday paper continues to have upside-down puzzle answers. Every Sunday, I have the choice of standing on my head or turning my laptop upside down to read the answers.
- Dave Miller, Denton
Great confidence in Trump
I am so glad Donald Trump is our president during this health crisis. He has excellent management skills for a complex situation. He has chosen some of the very best advisers and is able to make difficult decisions. Perhaps most important, he does not allow politics to sway him. He puts what is best for America and its people first.
- Ruth Cawyer, Stephenville
We must be serious
I was extremely disappointed in Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley telling WFAA Channel 8 news that the COVID-19 virus is not a deadly disease and refusing to follow Dallas’ lead by taking stronger actions to protect the residents of Fort Worth.
Right now, we desperately need leaders with intelligence and willingness to take actions that may not be easy but are necessary. I will remember his name at election time.
- Bobby Darr, Fort Worth
Not a media invention
A letter Tuesday accused the media of whipping up a frenzy about coronavirus, saying that the deaths from the virus are no worse than traffic deaths. But the virus is highly contagious, and there’s no vaccine yet to keep it in check.
The seasonal flu could potentially be as deadly as COVID-19 — and justify measures similar to what we’re seeing today — but we keep it in check through vaccines, just as we keep traffic deaths in check through traffic laws. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — not the media — has said that measures such as social distancing are needed to slow the spread of the virus.
- Stewart D. Greenlee, Arlington
The real threat is economic
When will we come to our senses concerning this over-hyped, media-driven coronavirus?
The CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people died from influenza between Oct. 1 and Feb. 1, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000. With COVID-19, we’ve seen a fraction of that number.
How can we allow our way of life to be altered this much? No sports, no entertainment, no dining out, no travel. People’s livelihoods and businesses, large and small, are being destroyed. We and future generations will be saddled with the enormous debts being proposed.
- Donald Pierce, Mansfield
That’s some pricey paper
People need to quit panicking because they can’t find toilet paper. It’s cheaper to just use a $20 bill.
- Hugh W. Savage Jr., Fort Worth
Plenty of heroes out there
Health-care professionals are getting much-deserved praise and recognition during this pandemic crisis. But they are not the only heroes. Grocery store cashiers, stockers and baggers are putting themselves at risk every day. Custodians are at risk while cleaning. And let’s give a huge thanks to truck drivers and those at distribution centers for delivering medical supplies and food as fast they can.
God bless all the Americans on the front lines saving lives and providing services.
- Brian Crosson, Fort Worth
One more reason not to smoke
As if we needed another reason to ban smoking in Texas, now a new study concludes that among COVID-19 patients in China, “the odds of disease progression (including to death) were 14 times higher among people with a history of smoking” than among non-smokers.
Politicians should immediately act to make Texas a smoke-free state and ban tobacco sales. Why are we still waiting?
- David Fusco, Arlington