PHD: Message to health board

The stated purpose of the Panhandle Health District is to “help prevent disease.” Their website says “Your health is our #1 priority.” Contrast this to a statement by health district board member Walt Kirby who was quoted saying, “I personally do not care whether anybody wears a mask or not. If they want to be dumb enough to walk around out there and expose themselves and others to this, that’s fine with me. I’m just sitting back and watching them catch it and die. Hopefully I’ll live through it.”

Lucky for you, Mr. Kirby, a team of health care workers are on standby to see that you have the best chance of survival. Unfortunately, these workers do not have the luxury of “sitting back.” They put themselves and their families at risk every day. Your job on the health board is to protect them, too.

How does the mask mandate reversal prioritize the community’s health? Health board members have a responsibility to be informed. A summary of the science on masks can be found on the Brigham Young University Life Sciences website https://pws.byu.edu/covid-19-and-masks.

Researchers conclude that masks could be one of the most powerful tools to stop COVID-19 and accelerate the economic recovery. If you choose to smoke, cigarettes are taxed to help cover burdens of related inevitable health care costs. COVID-19 is costing us plenty. A mask mandate should include fines for those who feel their freedom to spread disease is more important than protecting another’s life.

MARIAN WILSON, RN

Careywood