Contrast

My wife and I were Peace Corps Volunteer trainees in Zambia, Africa - that is until this past Wednesday. Peace Corps, understandably, ordered the evacuation of all volunteers and trainees globally because of the uncertain trajectory of the global Covid-19 pandemic. We boarded a flight in Lusaka, Zambia on Wednesday and made connections in Dubai and Los Angeles before arriving home in Boise on Thursday night, March 19. Before boarding in Dubai we were given a form to complete to provide information upon our arrival in Los Angeles on our health status, the countries we had visited within the last fourteen days, and where we would be staying in the U.S.. We were told to expect that we would be screened for Covid-19 symptoms, including elevated temperature, upon arrival in the U.S.. When we arrived in Los Angeles airport, however, there were no health personnel to accept our completed forms, nor was there any monitoring for Covid-19 symptoms. We were not provided any instruction or guidance on whether or not we should be doing self quarantine in the U.S., or even how to best protect ourselves and others. This after arriving on a crowded flight from Dubai - a major international hub with passengers from all over the world. There were only Customs and Immigration personnel, who said they weren’t doing health screening. By contrast, when we had arrived in Lusaka, Zambia on an international flight only one week earlier we were met by nurses in white uniforms who, immediately upon off-boarding, took our temperature and administered a questionnaire with information regarding any symptoms and where we were coming from and where staying in Zambia. It seems that Zambia is doing a much better job than our first world country at organizing to address the threat of spread of Covid-19.

Greg Weigel, Boise

Resolution

How sad we are seeing a blame game over the virus and excuses being made while so many need help and resources are needed but now is a time to come together because we are a nation that doesn't surrender instead we resolve problems. We must come together as a nation and heal those who are suffering and in pain and not incite violence or create anarchy but instead have patience and calm but there are those who fanning the flames of fire and causing panic in the streets. People are being discriminated and targeted on the basis of race and hatred is raising its ugly head and blaming them for the virus and this is why we have people who are paranoid. It is sad of what people have become and I hope that our nation doesn't become a witch hunt of blaming everyone and creating a war zone where looting and rioting take place. What has happen is we are turning on each other and creating division and the innocent and poor are suffering because who defends them and comes to their aid while they are dying from a lack of healthcare and hunger. People need to use judgment not judging of others and healthcare needs to show compassion for those in need and less fortunate because are they not human beings or and why do people ignore their pleas of help. We are nation that needs to not be judgmental and be tolerant and quit ignoring the plight of people in need because to many cannot fend for themselves against the virus and now is a time for helping hands to reach out to all and save our nation from crumbling into a wasteland of death. Let us pray for resolution.

John Landers, Wilder

Postpone

This morning's edition of the Idaho Press lists all of the local closures, including this from the City of Eagle: "The Eagle Public Library, the Landing Community and the Eagle Museum of History and Preservation will be closed for the foreseeable the future. The library and Parks and Recreation Department has canceled all classes, programs and events." The City website also lists these closures. So how can the mayor justify holding a PUBLIC Hearing this Tuesday? This hearing is on a land-use issue that the previous Council denied, and the request is from some of the mayor's campaign donors. The mayor has already demonstrated that he will do almost anything to undo every good thing the prior mayor and council did. However, this public hearing is the ultimate disregard for the health and safety of the people of Eagle, including council members and city staff. Perhaps Mayor Pierce knows that people will stay home, so he can grant his buddies their request without listening to his pesky residents. The City of Eagle must postpone all "public" hearings until the public can actually attend without compromising their health and safety.

Carol Richel, Eagle

Thank you

My sincere thanks go out to the medical and emergency people who are working hard during this epidemic crisis. Truck drivers, delivery workers and everyone else making sacrifices for us deserve special praise.

I would especially like to thank the letter carriers of the U.S. Postal Service. Many of them are military veterans who are serving the people of the United States a second time, delivering the mail during this epidemic. They are always there for us during the good times and bad, six days and sometimes seven days a week.

John Paige, Pocatello

Incompetence

Quotes from The Donald:

“We have it totally under control. It’s going to be just fine.”

“I think that's a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.”

“The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero.”

“One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”

“Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They’re there. And the tests are beautiful…. the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This was not as perfect as that but pretty good.”

“I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it… Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

"The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant.”

"It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."

“I’ve been right about a lot.”

“Low Ratings Fake News MSNBC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible. Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action. USA in great shape!”

Quote from Dr. Fauci:

“But when you’re dealing with the White House, sometimes you have to say things one, two, three, four times, and then it happens. So I’m going to keep pushing.”

How many people are going to die because of Trump’s incompetence?

Leo Faddis, Kuna

Action

I'm writing to you today to urge you, to plead with you, to help Idahoans understand why they must take a stronger stance on social distancing. I live in Meridian and have studied this virus extensively, and my concern for Idaho is this....the virus follows the exact same pattern regardless of geographical location. It doubles exponentially meaning that currently, we have around 77 confirmed cases in Idaho (although the number is likely 10-50x that because of limited testing). Right now, we are in the early phase where the number of people with the virus is doubling every 3-5 days...and those numbers are still fairly small. But if we don't take strong measures to slow the doubling, this will hit us like a bomb within in the next month. I know that sounds extreme when I type it out, but the math is clear. Unless lockdown is implemented, people don't follow social distancing recommendations, and here soon our hospitals will be completely overwhelmed. By my predictions, we will have over 14,000 people needing hospitalization within 20 days from now. Possibly more.

I have done a few videos over the past week explaining the math behind the patterns of the coronavirus. Here is a video I filmed showing and explaining the simple math behind COVID19: https://www.facebook.com/NatalieHodsonOfficial/videos/823530138154292/. The video now has 25,000 views and hundreds of shares.

In this video, I also share stories I've received from Idaho nurses sharing their experiences and fears. I explain the math behind the pattern of this virus. I show the patterns this virus follows in every country, every state, every town. It is predictable. This will eventually happen in every city in Idaho unless we implement strict guidelines for no contact. This website also shows very clearly the numbers: https://covidactnow.org/

We must take action, quickly.

Natalie Hodson, Meridian