I was appalled last week as I watched ABC News coverage and read The Washington Post on the coronavirus.

To learn young people are having COVID-19 parties, Americans are fighting over wearing of masks or face coverings and one governor is suing one of his own mayors over mandating masks in public is very disturbing.

According to a recent ABC News report, a 30-year-old man died at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, after attending a so-called COVID party.

He told his nurses, “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”

In a July 16 ABC News report, Mayor Alicia Weintraub of Calabasas, Calif., said she was very upset after receiving complaints from residents that YouTube star Jake Paul was throwing a party at his home where dozens of people were seen walking on the street without masks and not social distancing.

As the media continues reporting on the dispute of wearing face masks in public, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, is suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, to stop mandating the wearing of face coverings.

As positive cases continue to climb, Americans need to wear a face covering or mask in public if we are going to stop the spread of COVID-19.

According to a July 19 ABC News report titled “Coronavirus updates: South Carolina breaks record for new cases,” by Jon Haworth, Matt Zarrell and Meredith Deliso, “The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 3.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 140,369 deaths.”

In a July 14 CDC news release titled “CDC calls on Americans to wear masks to prevent COVID-19 spread,” CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield states, “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus - particularly when used universally within a community setting.

“All Americans have a responsibility to protect themselves, their families and their communities.”

Twenty-eight states are now requiring Americans to wear face coverings in public, in addition to major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Home Depot and Lowe’s.

If COVID-19 parties, fights over wearing face coverings, a governor suing a mayor and an increase in coronavirus cases is not enough, the Trump administration and some GOP senators are fighting over the next relief bill.

In a July 18 Washington Post article titled “Administration opposes new funds for testing, tracing and CDC in virus relief bill,” reporters Erica Werner and Jeff Stein wrote, “The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contract tracing in the upcoming coronavirus relief bill ...

“The administration is also trying to block billions of dollars that GOP senators want to allocate for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and billions more for the Pentagon and State Department to address the pandemic at home and abroad.”

If we don’t work together, COVID-19 will continue killing or leaving our fellow citizens with health issues such as difficulty breathing, loss of smell and taste, clinical depression or brain fog.

Some hospital ICUs are already over capacity, with patients being transferred out of state.

Parking lots will continue to fill up with refrigerator trucks holding the bodies of those lost to this devastating disease.

States need to pause reopenings, stay-at-home orders need to be reinstated and all Americans need to wear face masks.

Susan Bryant

editorial assistant

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press