Editor, Ceres Courier,

The selfishness you display by stating how very hot and uncomfortable donning a face mask renders your daily life is but a show of privilege. You have the opportunity to be of a positive influence in your community, yet you use it to take some useless stance on an issue that has endlessly proved to be of extreme danger to some people. The fact that there’s no way to know how one will react to COVID-19 unless you actually contract the virus is a very dangerously and unnecessary gamble.

The WHO stated that while a lot of information, even this far into the pandemic, is widely unknown, there is still the matter of pre-symptomatic spread, because it can be spread from person to person two days before any symptoms are exhibited.

That would mean that the “99-year-old in front of you who does have a mask on and shouldn’t be out if they’re so scared of this virus,” can be exposed to the virus before the carrier is even aware of it themselves. Have you personally volunteered yourself to shop for any elderly people in Ceres? Because unless you’ve given them your services, the only option they may have for groceries is to venture into Walmart themselves and hope to God those maskless around them won’t unknowingly spew the virus, while probably sharing too loudly to the shoppers around them about what an obstacle the current situation is to their personal liberties. If you don’t care for yourself, that’s fine, but the fact that you are willing to not care for those around you. An elderly person or immunocompromised person that has the same right as you to survive this situation, yet aren’t privileged enough to be able to afford getting sick, simply because you’d rather keep your comfort, says it all. You’re probably not aware of how the hospital situation will look if too many people need the ICU to fight COVID-19 at once. How many ICU beds are available in Ceres? None. That would mean we’d take up resources in another town that has its own patients to take care of. 

According to the CDC the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

It’s not about fear – it’s about protecting each other’s health so that we may never deal with the virus and its possible complications personally.

If the worst thing that happens to you and your elderly mother this year is mask derived discomfort, you should consider yourself very lucky.

Ashley Rogers

LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the editor will be considered for publication but must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters should be 250 words or less and be void of libel. Send to The Ceres Courier, 138 S. Center Street, Turlock CA 95380 or emailed to jeffb@cerescourier.com.