This morning I got up early; I could not sleep. Yes, I am allergic to coronavirus, but our president is allergic to facts. He doesn't read and gets his bullet points from Fox News.
The failings of the Trump administration are endangering the nation. I don't care about day trading and "The Art of the Deal." I care about people who get sick.
Mike Bodine, East Ridge
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Were precautions taken for meals?
On Sunday, April 5, you featured a picture of the owners/workers of a barbecue joint preparing and packaging 525 take-out meals.
Where is the personal protection for handling of food at all times, not only during a medical crisis.
No one in the accompanying photograph picture is wearing gloves or a mask while packaging meals for people to take home to their families.
The containers are just as vulnerable to contamination as the food.
Molly Davis
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DIY: From bandana to your face mask
There are a lot of us out here who have no clue how to sew anything, so it was a relief when my wife found a way to fold bandanas into face masks on Facebook.
For those many of us who don't Book Faces, I provide the following instructions:
* Lay bandana flat. Fold top part to middle. Fold bottom part to middle (now it's half the original size). Turn it over (you can put a coffee filter in it now if you want the possibility of additional protection). Fold top part to middle. Fold bottom part to middle.
* Flip the bandana over again. Put hair ties (the rubber band things used for ponytails) about 1/3rd of the way in on each side. Fold the ends in over the hair ties. Put it over mouth and nose (folded side toward your face) and put ties behind your ears.
These are actually more comfortable than the face masks I had in my garage. Hope this helps keep folks safer from COVID-19.
James M. Hemsley
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Lessons of history point to preparedness
What do you make of the Surgeon General's gratuitous "lessons of history," specifically his contention that Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are apt analogies to the coronavirus pandemic?
The most common thread is that all three are examples of getting "caught with our pants down."
In all three, our leaders failed to understand the "clear and present danger" until after the "surprise attacks."
In all three, the question was how much vigilance should we reasonably expect from our politicians.
Is it OK not to know what you don't know?
So the history lesson we must heed has to do with vigilance and staying on top our our game.
For instance, we homo sapiens need to address climate change and a reality we call the "sixth extinction."
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently opined about the opportunity we must take to save Mother Earth. History is a great teacher, This is no time to stop paying attention.
It is time to identify and address "clear and present dangers" wherever they may appear.
Blake Moore