We must continue living

We must continue living
To the Editor:
I am appalled at the comments printed in this section of the paper on a regular basis as some suggest our rights are not inalienable, that the rights of all should be stripped because of fear from a few. The two letters to the editor in last week’s paper show that fear and the
ignorance of the authors on why many refuse to wear a paper/cloth mask. Many will not live in fear of something with a survival rate over 99%. The numbers are skewed, we all know it, yet here we are on day 135 of a 15-day “flatten the curve.”
Let`s actually look at the science. BMJ Journals in 2015 did a
randomized trial of cloth masks
compared with medical masks in
healthcare workers from various
countries. The results, “The rates of infection were highest in the cloth mask arm, penetration of cloth masks by
particles was almost 97% and medical masks 44%, the results caution against the use of cloth masks, moisture retention, poor filtration may result in increased rates of infection …”
World Health Organization, June 5th, “There is limited evidence that the wearing of a mask by healthy
individuals, in particular those who share a house with a sick person or attendees of a mass gathering as a measure of preventing transmission. At present there is no direct evidence of effectiveness of universal masking of healthy individuals in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.”
The CDC recommended against masks early, with the illustrious Dr. Fauci doubling down on that in March. A study done by “Nature” in June agreed with these findings. They conducted a study of actively infected individuals with flu and COVID, “Among the samples collected without a face mask, we found that the majority of participants with influenza virus and coronavirus virus did not shed detectable virus in respiratory droplets …”
The hyperbole and utter nonsense posted in this section last week required a response. The division and anger these false and inflammatory statements could cause should be criminal. No one wants to kill their neighbor and the suggestion is disgusting. We have been successful in Weston County because we did take this seriously, and we still do, but life MUST continue. Please own your own choices and stop the hatred aimed at those who refuse to comply with media driven fear. I can assure you when I encounter anyone wearing a mask, I keep my distance. 
Weston County has not had a mask mandate, yet we remain successful in containing the spread. It’s enough already! Let’s 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.
— Gillian Sears