No mask, no COVID care — so do we have a deal?

So, I’m wondering if reader Lee Gingerich would be willing to sign an affidavit refusing treatment should he need to be hospitalized for COVID-19.

To a lot of other readers, that only seems fair.

Gingerich and a number of likeminded individuals (most speaking anonymously) expressed their support and agreement with a woman I wrote about for Sunday’s Arizona Republic named Cindy Roshon.

She told me in part, “I’d be proud to be arrested for standing up for my constitutional rights, which cannot be violated, even for health reasons. So, tattle on me, come get me, whatever. I’ll be easy to identify. I’ll be the one in the store without a mask. Proudly signing my name, Cindy Roshon.”

Gingerich responded to that column, saying, “A tip of the hat to Cindy Roshon for telling it like it is ... This mask wearing Socialist garbage spread by media types like you is almost as deadly as COVID ... The fear that the media spreads with its ‘The sky is falling, the sky is falling’ will take more of a toll on society in the long run than COVID ever will. This virus will eventually burn itself out with little help from man, despite this politically correct mask wearing farce.”

Then – unlike so many others – he signed his name. Props for that.

Several other readers – believers in wearing masks and doing their part to minimize the spread of the virus – wondered just how far individuals like Gingerich and Roshon were willing to go in order to affirm their commitment.

When President Donald Trump came to the Valley last month, speaking to a crowd of virus-spreading, mask-averse supporters at Dream City Church in Phoenix, each of those in attendance was required to sign a waiver saying in part, “You and any guest voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Turning Point Action, their affiliates, Dream City Church, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.”

A number of readers noted this arrangement and wondered if those who refuse to wear masks would be willing to take it one step further.

As reader Babette Burns put it, “I wonder if Cindy – and all the others with similar views – would be willing to put their health where their mouths are. Would she be willing to sign a legal affidavit refusing to be hospitalized if she contracts COVID? Doing so would reserve the increasingly limited resources for those of us who DO follow the best practices recommended by the health experts.”

With more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases now confirmed in Arizona, more than 1,800 deaths and nearly 90% of ICU beds in use, we could use the help.

And with such strong convictions, why wouldn’t they volunteer? Proudly.