Does South Carolina need to start closing bars to slow our rising COVID-19 rates?

On COVID-19, bars

The Texas Medical Association has published a list ranking activities that risk exposure to COVID-19.

The activities with the lowest risk are given a “1” rating, and “opening mail” is among them. The activities with the highest risk are given a “9” rating, and “going to a bar” is one of the behaviors in that risky category.

The fact is that until the state or municipal authorities begin to close bars in the face of this pandemic, the virus is unlikely to come under control.

The ongoing failure to close bars continues to be a glaring error in South Carolina’s battle to get the COVID-19 infection rate under control.

David Finley, Isle of Palms

On reopening schools

Gov. Henry McMaster is putting our children and teachers on the front lines against COVID-19. During a worldwide pandemic that has yet to subside, why invite dangerous risks with a communicable disease that still doesn’t have a cure?

In defending his desire for students and teachers to start returning to classrooms in September, McMaster said that we are “all in the same boat” when comes to confronting COVID-19.

Really?

Well, maybe the governor should personally get inside the boat and actually spend time in a school classroom on a daily basis beginning Sept. 8. Maybe McMaster should:

▪ Sit in a cramped school bus on small seats with no social distancing.

▪ Have lunch in a cafeteria where it’s impossible to both eat and wear a mask.

▪ Spend hours in classrooms where people may have running noses and coughs — and may be taking off their masks to deal with both.

▪ Speak through a mask to large groups of children for several hours a day.

▪ Reject hugs from homesick, scared students in order to reduce the risk of infection.

Instead of trying to force teachers and students to do all of this, here is what the state should do instead:

▪ Implement a program that provides a computer to every family in need so that distance learning can work effectively in the short term.

▪ Build additional towers to help provide better communication services in rural communities.

▪ Arrange for day care-type services in schools and community centers to help parents have child care. These programs should have small numbers of children who attend on alternating days.

It’s unfortunate that neither President Donald Trump nor Vice President Mike Pence has ever worked in a public school; they simply don’t understand what they are asking of teachers and school employees.

This is a life-and-death issue.

Kat Stevens Bradley, Columbia

On Lott, Holbrook

Thank goodness for Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook!

They have kept order in our city while searching tirelessly for the criminals who vandalized and burned many stores and cars during the recent riots.

Thank you, Sheriff Lott and Chief Holbrook. I support you both, and also the men and women who serve with you.

Beth Bolton, Columbia

On McMaster

Under the leadership of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio has become the latest state with a mandate for face masks.

Why does our feckless Gov. Henry McMaster continue to stand with a shrinking minority of governors who refuse to issue face mask mandates?

The State keeps repeating the statement that McMaster has been been giving for the past two months or so, but does anyone really ever ask him for an explanation?

Please, somebody hold McMaster accountable.

Gere Fulton, Columbia

On responsibility

I am old enough to remember World War II.

Men went into military service; women, meanwhile, went into war plants.

Even children had war-bond stamp books with weekly dime contributions.

Everyone was involved and, generally, everyone accepted the necessary changes in lifestyle.

I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic we are now confronting is comparable to the environment we faced during World War II.

Like World War II, dealing with COVID-19 requires a universal acceptance of individual participation — it is vital if this nation is to recover from this pandemic.

During this current time of crisis, I believe that being asked to wear a face mask in public and maintain a 6-foot distance from others are very small sacrifices for Americans to make.

I don’t understand why so many people object to such simple requirements, but accepting these sacrifices should take precedence over complaining about “individual rights.”

Such complaints would have been unacceptable to make during World War II, and it should be unacceptable to make them now.

Janet O’Keeffe, Columbia

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 8:12 PM.