In a recent Tribune article about the Salt Lake County Council voting to overturn the Health Department’s mask mandate for elementary schools, (https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/08/12/salt-lake-county-council/) this quote stood out for me: “Although we have smart, incredible health officials, there are so many unknowns,” (Council member) Winder Newton said. “It’s difficult because none of us have a crystal ball to see how our decision today will impact the future.”
That crystal ball is unnecessary. A look back at February, March and April of 2020 is sufficient to know that being unmasked as the pandemic was surging resulted in hundreds of deaths, thousands of hospitalizations and countless very ill people. This was before the emergence of the more contagious and child-targeting Delta virus.
We can have a pretty good idea from that history and from the knowledge and wisdom of those “smart, incredible health officials” what is in store for our children and for us.
Is masking really too much to ask to keep the most vulnerable among us alive?
Lynn Martinez, Brigham City