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Luzerne County Council fills board seats

AP Interview: US envoy calls for Iran arms embargo renewal

During this entire pandemic, as I watch &mdash;sometimes disbelievingly &mdash; the comments made by our governmental leaders, our business experts and our, yes, media, I think about one quote from President John F. Kennedy.
				&ldquo;Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.&rdquo;
				That really says it all. It speaks directly to what we need, and have needed since Patient Zero was found and COVID-19 changed our lives and the changed the world.
				And make no mistake about it, we are not even close to being out of the woods.
				Just look at the rising number of cases in states like Arizona, Texas, California and Florida. If anyone thought that &ldquo;going green&rdquo; meant we were free to come and go as we please without wearing masks, without social distancing and without behaving, well, those people were wrong.
				It has been proven that we can return to some form of normalcy is we continue to do all those things that Gov. Tom Wolf, Secretary Rachel Levine, Dr. Anthony Fauci and others have told us to do from the beginning:
				&#8226; Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
				&#8226; Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
				&#8226; Clean surfaces frequently.
				&#8226; Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
				&#8226; If you must go out, you are required to wear a mask when in a business or where it is difficult to maintain proper social distancing.
				These mitigation tools go a long way in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
				I have seen some reports that in cities were the &ldquo;city/county/state/national leaders&rdquo; have allowed for reopenings, COVID-19 cases have not just crept upward, but they have spiked &mdash; even setting records on some days.
				What people have to realize is that if you decide to take the risk and venture out to places where masks are not required, where social distancing is not strictly enforced, you are risking more than your personal health. If you should contract the coronavirus, you may not realize it for a week or longer and in that time, you may infect others. It has happened time and again.
				Gov. Cuomo in New York recently spoke of a young person who returned to New York from Florida and attended a party. Gov. Cuomo said some 18 people were infected.
				We all want that &ldquo;return to normalcy,&rdquo; but as Gov. Wolf has said many times, we will have to live in this &ldquo;new normal&rdquo; of wearing masks in public and social distancing.
				This pandemic is not, should not, be a matter for political debate. It is an issue of national health.
				JFK also said: &ldquo;Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.&rdquo;
				Think about this virus and its devastating, often deadly, effects on humans.
				Find the patience to practice mitigation and find the compassion to protect others.
				As has been said from the beginning, we are all in this together.

Beyond the Byline: Mitigate, mitigate, mitigate