Dan Caswell, Minot

Regarding the Corona Virus and the quarantine we are and have been under. I wonder just where people’s brains are in today’s world. On the East Coast, a minister died from the virus. Then I heard another minister was suing the state for not letting him have church service.

Now right here in Minot, ND we have a senior care entity that I heard wants to sue Governor Burgum – ie., our great State of ND for forcing them to shut down during this crisis. Does this senior care entity think it would have been better to have stayed open, and let their tenants die from the virus? I can just see how nice that would have been. News for today: “50% of Senior Care facility tenants have passed away from the Virus, now all the family’s are suing the entity for not taking proper precautions”. Yes, that probably would have been better – or at least that seems to be what the owners of that institution would have liked. I have heard comments from people to the effect that ” I don’t know why we had to shut down, this virus is not spreading as fast as they said it does”.

Are people so ignorant that they can’t realize the spread was not as fast BECAUSE we locked down and took precautions?

I have also heard people say things like “it’s not going to be any worse than getting the flu and I will survive it”. How do they know how it will affect them? I am also very surprised at the severe differences in the approach to trying or not trying to curb the spread. There are several businesses in Minot that will not allow you to enter the store; you have to call ahead and they will bring product out to you – wearing masks and gloves. Then you go into other businesses, such as most gas stations, and no one is wearing any mask or other protective apparel.

Yes, ND has low numbers of the virus, but this is partly because in large city’s, such as New York, people are literally living on top of each other. You cannot get to work without riding a crowded subway. Here we jump in our own cars and go by ourselves; so we do have an advantage being rural. That does not mean we don’t have to be vigil on this thing. I applaud our Governor and other lawmakers for taking a stance and shutting down businesses.

I am also amazed at the food service businesses that make ready to eat food without wearing any masks. I personally will not buy anything from a restaurant where the food is prepared or contacted by persons not wearing a mask. I would think restaurants would take it upon themselves to force employees to wear hair nets, masks, and gloves. And those gloves should not be the same ones they make food with, then make change with and then go back to making food with again!