Not restrictive

In his May 14 op-ed “Time to End the COVID-19 Hysteria,” respected forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht concludes, “the overall restrictive measures that have been imposed are simply unsustainable.”

Is wearing a cloth mask in public, combined with social distancing of 6 feet, too restrictive? Unsustainable? Forbes reported on May 12 that new research shows this simple, effective combo stops the spread of COVID-19 by 80%!

Referring to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, Dr. Wecht states, “there were 61,000 deaths attributed to influenza in the 2018-19 season. Somehow we dealt with that epidemic without closing down society.”

Meanwhile, a May 14 article (“Assessment of Deaths from COVID-19 and From Seasonal Influenza”) in the Journal of the American Medical Association online journal dismisses this comparison. “Yet public officials continue to draw comparisons between seasonal influenza and [COVID-19] mortality,” write the authors, “often in an attempt to minimize the effects of the unfolding pandemic.”

The authors — physicians from Harvard and Emory medical schools — state COVID-19 deaths likely exceed seasonal flu deaths by “9.5 fold” or greater.

Dr. Wecht doesn’t mention that elective hospital surgeries are actually happening again. My son is scheduled for knee surgery on June 1. Older patients are again getting chemo at some of the same hospitals that take COVID-19 patients. Strict mitigation measures, thank goodness, remain in place.

Let’s be creative, disciplined and united against the common enemy, COVID-19. Troops in the battle, like my wife (a hospital nurse) — and her patients — are counting on us.

JIM JOYCE

Emsworth