Get us back to normal

Get us back to normal
To the Editor,
I’m writing to thank Gillian Sears for her
articulate and timely letter in the July 30, 2020, edition of the News Letter Journal. This letter raises important questions, such as the continued push for policies that were supposed to last 30 days at most, and the slurring as murderers of anyone who dares to question these policies. It also presents compelling data for research-based health practices instead of following potentially politically-motivated,
fear-based tactics.
I support her statements 100% and echo the
encouragement to “get our schools to reopen normally, get businesses back to full capacity and let us focus on living, instead of being obsessed with a virus we will be dealing with forever, just like the flu.”  
I would also offer an
additional perspective on the consequences of this virus and ensuing policies long after the curve was flattened: the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual toll that has arisen out of continued policies that brought life to a standstill, which current research is now questioning the effectiveness of anyway.
Depression, anxiety, stress, isolation, substance abuse, and a host of other issues are on the rise. No loss of life is ever trivial, and every COVID death is a tragedy; however, COVID death and illness are no more tragic than other death and illness, yet the spectre of COVID seems to dominate the news, with very little consideration being given to deaths and illnesses due to the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aftermath of continued shutdown in one form or another.  
These issues need serious consideration as well,
recognizing that health is so much more than disease prevention. Policies that strive to contain the virus, however well intentioned, that are not continually supported by data but by fear, are causing more damage than the actual virus.  
As Ms. Sears so aptly pointed out, “life MUST
continue” and we need policies that follow current data and respect individual’s rights to their own healthcare decisions, balancing all the consequences of this
pandemic.
I am proud to live in Weston County and call Newcastle my home. Let’s continue to use common sense and follow science — they are not mutually exclusive!
— Leslie Patterson