Letters to the Editor

To the editor:

Shelter in place isn’t so bad after all.

With all the deaths this virus has caused, I wonder if it has not affected civilizations in the past, say 5,000 years ago. Maybe this virus was the source for civilizations that have disappeared mysteriously.

Think about it. No television, no radio, no internet, no phones to spread the word of the virus and its effects. What did ancient civilizations do? My guess is they prayed to their gods and had the elders suggest what to do. I doubt if they had the idea of sheltering in place. I doubt they knew how to treat it at all. They probably just gathered around the person dying and cried and wished for a cure, which infected everyone there and spread it even more.

We are lucky to be here and now and have the intelligence to know how harmful this virus is and suggest solutions like sheltering in place and avoiding contact with each other to stop it from spreading.

I know one day there will be a cure or vaccine to stop it in its tracks like what was done for polio and smallpox. But that day is not here yet, so we must do what we can to prevent more sickness and death.

William E. Mason
Affton