Dear Editor,

I was surprised during these times when we are being subjected to misinformation downplaying the prevalence of Covid-19 and its harms that the Times Leader would publish a letter like Hugh Nile’s Letter to the Editor “Overreaction will lead to a depression” in the Sunday, April 5 newspaper. The gist of his letter was that government is only asking for social distancing and shut down of many activities and business because the government wants to make people fearful so the government can gain more power over the populace. He tries to point out that the virus is not much worse than the flu and will only kill a few more than numbers that die from the flu and automobile accidents each year. He neglects to acknowledge that deaths caused by the virus could exceed a million persons in this country without the shutdowns, self quarantines and social distancing, etc. Governor DeWine said “Here is the truth: … the virus is here. It lives among us… We must be at war with it, this enemy is dangerous, it is relentless, and it is using us as its host…. We do have it within our ability to fight back. When you stop moving, when I stop moving, it stops moving. It can’t reach someone else.” People need to stop exclusively listening to Fox News that supports and makes excuses for President Trump and his administration’s mishandling of this pandemic. People should also listen to other news outlets and keep an open mind to the truth and facts. Only a few weeks ago Trump’s mouth piece/purported advisor, Kellyanne Conway, knowingly lied when she said the virus was “contained’. It never was “contained”. Stop paying attention to the lies and lets all pull together and get through this and don’t help spread false facts to downplay the catastrophe we may be facing. Help your neighbors and if you can afford it, donate to your local food bank and please stop hoarding toilet paper.

Bruce E. Goff

Martins Ferry