COVID at work

Author's note: I appreciate the feedback from the column I wrote for the Nov. 13 issue of The Community News.

As I write, it is more than a week since the election, and COVID-19 is still with us. I got my hopes up because more than one person told me it would go away on Nov. 3.

Instead, COVID-19 has hit the country with a vengeance. The United States leads the world in cases and deaths, and Texas leads the United States.

In case you’re wondering about The Community News, our count is three cases, two active and one death out of a staff of about five.

I have to admit I’m tired of the people who seek at every opportunity to minimize this pandemic.

I understand the odds are low of dying from the virus. Moving down the scale from death is the risk of being hospitalized and intubated, getting really sick and incapacitated, having minor symptoms, or having no symptoms at all.

I think the people who fail to behave responsibly by not wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding crowds, etc. are not aware of the difficulty they put other people through, so I won’t call them selfish in this column — just misguided.

The lack of responsibility on my staff has resulted in increased workload for me while already short-staffed and attempting, like many small businesses, to navigate this pandemic.

That said, I don’t feel as bad for myself as I feel for the students who are missing out on school activities because of the misguided and ignorant actions of their peers and the complete abdication of parental responsibility on the part of people who should know better.

In the past week a varsity football was canceled, tantamount to canceling church in these parts. The tennis team had to forfeit its playoff.

On top of that, as of this writing 131 students at Aledo High School are in quarantine or isolation due to exposure.

I don’t know how many people are engaging in reckless behavior, but I truly feel bad for the students and parents who are doing things right. Kids can have social interactions and live their lives if they just follow the simple procedures.

But this is Texas. Nobody tells us what to do.

We could certainly use a dose of humility, a helping of science, and a great deal more consideration for others.

Think of front-line medical workers, the elderly, those who are immune-compromised, and put on the damn mask!