Safety First

As a parent and an attorney, my family’s mantra is “Safety First”.  We should have the same attitude with preventing the spread of the coronavirus. However, the failure to mandate or encourage mask wearing and social distancing has made the contagion worse.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States. Great idea, right?  Trump blocked the safety measure.

Unfortunately, the spread is worse now. Yesterday, there were 56,000 new infections. The levels we had in August. We have been averaging more than 40,000 for the last month. We need to be below 10,000 per day.

The public health order would have been the toughest federal mandate to date aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Administration officials said that it was drafted under the agency’s “quarantine powers” and that it had the support of the secretary of health and human services. However, VP Pence refused to discuss it with the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Wear a mask for your safety and for everyone else’s health.