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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
August 6, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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August 6, 2020
 
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Page A-4 — Shelton-Mason County Journal Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020 THESE TIMES Things we said in February emember Febru- ary — that month when most of us could be childishly naive about the potential ern Europe, but there seems to be enough warning in advance to poten- tially halt this epi- of a spiky virus? Febru- demic in the U.S. ary started about a week and in Europe. after the first reported Numbers will go coronavirus infection in up, but it shouldn’t the United States (in By KIRK , look anything near Snohomish County) and ERICSON like what we’re it ended, on Feb. 29, with seeing in China,” the first reported U.S. — Dean of the COVID-19 death (in Kirk- land). Let’s look back and see what some people were saying about the novel coronavirus a half a year ago. Feb. 2: “It’s very, very transmissible, and it almost certame is going to be a pandemic. But will it be cata- strophic? I don’t know.” — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Al- lergy and Infectious Disease Feb. 4: “This virus has lit- erally only existed on planet Earth in humans for maybe two months. There is so much we don’t know about it that it leads us to take additional precautions.” —Acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kenneth Cuccinelli Feb. 7: “Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus. He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone. Great disci- pline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very success- ful operation. We are working closely with China to help!” —— Tweet by current U.S. presi- dent ' Feb. 11: “We now have a name for the disease and it’s COVID-19.” World Health Organization chief Tedros Ad- hanom Ghebreyesus Feb. 16: “The numbers will go up in the U.K., U.S., West- USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Shelton-Mason County Journal, P.O. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. PUblished weekly by the Shelton—Mason County Journal at 227 W. Cota St, Shelton, Washington. Mailing address: PO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone: 360—426-441 Website: www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid in Shelton, Washington. Slnltmtfillaaoamnt National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine Peter Hotez Feb. 20: “So, where should you put this virus on your risk list? Me, I’m ranking it low, but with an option to revisit.” — Shelton-Mason County Journal columnist Kirk Eric- son Feb. 24: “The coronavirus is the common cold, folks.” Radio talker Rush Limbaugh Feb. 24: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all rel— evant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” — Tweet by cur- rent U .S. president . Feb. 25: “We expect we will see community spread in this country. It is not a matter of if, but a question of when, this will exactly happen.” Di- rector of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Nancy Messonnier Feb. 25: “We have con- tained this, I won’t say air- tight, but pretty close to air- tight.” — Director of the White House’s National Economic Council Larry Kudlow Feb. 28: “This is a reality check for every government on the planet: Wake up, get ready. This virus may be on its way, and you need to be . ready. You have a duty to your citizens, you have a duty to the world, to be ready.” — Executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program Dr. Mike Ryan see TIMES, page A-5 ' Association. The Shelton-Mason County Jour- nal is a member of the Wash- ington Newspaper Publishers SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $62 per year ($43 for six months) for Mason County addresses and $75 per year ($55 for six months) ' outside of Mason County. Owned and published by Shelton-Mason County Journal, lnc. EDITORIAL ' Perspective changes the view a silver lining. Unless of course, you’re killed by a lighting strike from that cloud. . The continual barrage of data in the national news focuses on the biggest num- bers, and we encourage our readers to look into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Johns Hopkins Uni— versity for context. While the number of COVID-19 infected people in the United States continues to grow, the disease mortality rate has been in steady decline for most of the past 30 weeks, according to the CDC. Again, not good news if you were killed by the lightning bolt. The point is, there’s a lot to worry about if all you do is scan the headlines. But perspective can change the way you feel. ' ‘ If you’re worried about being killed by the murder hornet, which invaded the shores of Washington last year, it’s com- forting to know that entomologists .at the state Department ‘of Agriculture have captured a live specimento study. That’s no small feat when you consider that there have been only six confirmed sightings of the bug in the United States. And while this is good news for scientists and people worried about the threat of the invading insect, it’s not so good news for the Murder Hornet. There’s still too much we don’t know It’s been said that every dark cloud has about the global pandemic but with every hour that passes, we know more. The University of Washington’s Insti— tute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reported last week that, if 95 percent of people wear cloth masks when they’re out , and about interacting with other people, it reduces transmission by at least 30 per- cent. In other words, each infected person will go on to infect 30 percent fewer people. AliMokdad is on that research team and suggested that the wearing of masks could prove a more powerful deterrent than lock- downs. This gives us, hope that if there is a resurgence of the disease, rather than widespread quarantine and shuttering of businesses, we could instead wear masks, socially distance and quarantine only those infected and those most at risk of succumb- , ing to the disease. lCOVID—19 Continues to wreak havoc on our psyches and on our economy and that is because of the undeniable fact that this is a deadly disease. _ And although tempers continue to flare over how to protect oneself and each other, we see an array of possibilities as our soci- . ety continues to work on trying to get back to normal. . We should not despair nor should we be overly optimistic. a .Rather, let us resolve to be pragmatic and pay attention to what appears to be i working, and take comfort in that. MAYBE I SHOULD REQUIRE MASKS SO PEOPLE DON'T RISK DEATH TO MEET ME. Minimal Publisher/editor: Tom Mullen Advertising: John Lester, general manager Delivery: Theresa Murray, ad representative Jon Garza David Olson Newsroom: Gordon Weeks, reporter Justin Johnson, sports/outdoors editor Isabella Breda, reporter Kirk Ericson, columnist/ proofreader Lloyd Mullen, creative director Kirk Boxleitner, reporter Front office: Dave Pierik, office administrator Niel Challstrom All regular editorial. advertising and legal deadlines are 5 pm. the - Monday prior to publication. To submit a letter to the editor, 1 email adam@masoncounty.com. Composing room: . William Adams, advertising and technical support