My brother, only 26, died of COVID-19
Leaders could have saved lives, livelihoods
My brother was a handsome, overly generous, imaginative and stubborn mama’s boy. His smile could light up any room. He was protective of his family, and he was stolen from us before we could even understand what was happening to him.
Mario Auguste, younger than me by three years, died less than 12 hours after being released from the emergency room to self-quarantine on July 7. It must have been during the early morning hours, after his roommates checked on him about midnight. He had a high fever, took a bath and went to bed.
The rest of us — his family members and friends — woke up to a nightmare, and plenty of unanswered questions.
Why wasn’t he admitted? Was the hospital unprepared? He had tested positive for COVID-19. He had difficulty breathing, stomach pains and a persistent fever.
He had been following updates from President Donald Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations and procedures mandated by Florida’s governor. What else should he have done? The multitude of messages from the administration has caused confusion for the public and must have certainly confused my brother. Should masks be worn or not? Sometimes the administration’s message was masks on, at other times masks off. There were contradictory quotes coming from the administration along with the censorship of scientists.
‘Play it down’
“I always wanted to play it down,” Trump said during an interview with famed journalist Bob Woodward. The president of the United States decided to downplay what he knew to be a deadly disease. His lack of decisive action is disgusting!
During the first presidential debate, he mocked former Vice President Joe Biden for wearing a mask. When Trump returned from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after having recovered from his own bout with COVID, he stated that it was nothing to worry about.
Maybe it’s easy to downplay a disease when you are guaranteed worldclass health care.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has failed Floridians, costing many their lives and livelihoods as the state’s COVID cases continue to spike without resolution. The numbers tell a frightening story. People are getting sick and dying — young people, like my brother, who was only 26.
Rebekah Jones, a scientist, says she was fired from Florida’s health department in May for refusing to manipulate COVID-19 data to make it look like the state was ready to reopen when it wasn’t.
My family is from Haiti. My grandfather sent his wife and children to America in the 1970s to escape political persecution. I don’t know whether my brother was a victim of discrimination, but chances are that he was. COVID-19, like so many health care tragedies, disadvantages people of color. Black Americans are three times as likely to get sick and twice as likely to die as whites due to lack of access to health care and treatment for the disease.
My brother was a young Black man who sought care but was sent home. Even if his poor treatment was not discrimination, the disparities alone should serve as a call to action.
No standard of care
Students are returning to their campuses, persuaded to carry on as if all is well. In Florida, there is no standard of care concerning COVID-19 cases. Treatment can range from complex orders of antibiotics coupled with respiratory care, to being sent home to self-quarantine with no antibiotics.
Your sibling should not be snatched from you like mine was. Sadly, his story is similar to so many others. If you feel the need to scoff at my message, then you are among the fortunate. You haven’t felt the pain of losing a loved one to a sickness that many continue to ridicule or wield as a political tool, rather than as a call to improve policy.
So many could have been saved had Trump decided to do the right thing rather than downplay the truth. Deaths are projected to reach 300,000 by December. The COVID-19 pandemic won’t disappear this flu season. Who else are we willing to lose?
Sahadia Auguste, who has a law degree from Rutgers University and a master of laws degree from Emory University, is founder of a nonprofit organization in Haiti that provides educational resources for inner-city youth. WANT TO COMMENT? Have Your Say at letters@usatoday.com, @usatodayopinion on Twitter and facebook.com/usatodayopinion. Comments are edited for length and clarity. Content submitted to USA TODAY may appear in print, digital or other forms. For letters, include name, address and phone number. Letters may be mailed to 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA, 22108.