Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers:
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July 15
Valdosta Daily Times on lowering the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses during the summer months:
Mosquitoes have tested positive for the West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis in South Georgia.
Mosquito-borne illnesses are found almost every year in the region, and 2020 – coronavirus or not – is no different, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s South Health District.
The South Health District recently reported two cases of West Nile Virus in Lowndes County and a case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in an emu in Lanier County.
Symptoms of West Nile Virus in humans include headache, fever, joint pain, body ache, vomiting, diarrhea and rash. Severe symptoms include neurological illness that may include headaches, high fever, stiffness in neck, disorientation, coma, tremors, seizures or paralysis, according to South Health District.
The recent combination of high temperatures and rains increase the possibility of mosquito-borne illnesses.
Mosquitoes seem to be everywhere.
They are in the backyard but they can also be found hovering around doorways, near kitchen sinks and bath tubs.
While warm weather prompts their return, mosquitoes are like people – they are seeking cooler places to be.
They hover around standing water.
They seek shade.
They are more likely to be abundant in the early morning and evening hours.
Their bites are often described as pesky, but they can be deadly.
Mosquitoes transmit West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis to animals and humans.
People should take precautions in dealing with mosquitoes.
Lowering the mosquito population reduces the chances of a person becoming infected by such viruses, according to health officials.
Remove standing water from outside of the home. This includes emptying buckets, bird feeders, water bowls, etc.
If wearing short sleeves and shorts, make sure children have been sprayed with a safe mosquito repellent. Wearing long sleeves and pants works best but may be uncomfortable in the South Georgia heat.
Spray mosquito repellent around doorways in and out of the house and window sills.
A little precaution will make the outdoors more pleasant while possibly averting a tragedy.
Online: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com
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July 11
Rome News-Tribune on the importance of wearing masks in slowing the spread of the coronavirus:
As a community we shouldn’t have to make our city and county commissions force us to act like adults - we should take personal responsibility and wear masks.
The rate of new COVID-19 infections is increasing drastically and a few simple steps could slow that to a standstill. We know most of our readers are already acting responsibly and we thank you.
For the rest of you, we’ve seen the plethora of false social media posts touting fake science: masks keep you from breathing and will suffocate you, the spread of COVID-19 is a media scam and really isn’t dangerous at all.
Well here you go. COVID-19 doesn’t kill everybody, it doesn’t even kill most everybody - but when the coronavirus gets in a nursing home it wreaks death and havoc. Why? Because nursing homes contain the sector of the population hardest hit by coronavirus. The coronavirus is highly contagious. That, coupled with its ability to hurt our older and fragile populations, makes it dangerous. For many others, it’s nothing but a cough or maybe a fever. But for a few, it’s death - plain and simple.
To put it simply, when coronavirus hits a nursing home, your grandparents, your mom and dad, your great-aunt, your child’s great-grandmother could die.
The thing is, when we don’t act like adults we don’t get to do what we want to do.
None of us want businesses to shut down again. It was an effective way to slow the quickly spreading contagion but it hurt many businesses and - let’s face it - after another shutdown, many businesses wouldn’t open back up.
The Centers for Disease Control has declared Georgia a red zone because of the number of new cases each day. In early July, the state averaged 1,000 cases; now it’s near 2,500 on average.
Here’s a simple solution - we wear masks. Don’t go consult the know-it-alls with Facebook medical degrees, listen to real health professionals and people who actually know what they’re talking about.
And be wary of Facebook constitutional scholars who are convinced that this is all a conspiracy so the government can rob you of your rights.
In a recent joint city and county meeting discussing the merits of masks to contain the spread of the virus, ALL of our medical leaders - Floyd’s Kurt Stuenkel, Redmond’s John Quinlivan, Harbin Clinic’s Kenna Stock and the health department’s Dr. Gary Voccio - agreed that wearing masks was the right thing to do.
There’s a back and forth on whether the city or county should mandate us to wear masks. Atlanta’s doing it - Savannah and Athens, along with other cities, already have.
There’s a reason why medical professionals wear them. They stop the spread of diseases. In this case, you stop yourself from spreading the coronavirus. When someone else wears a mask, they stop themself from spreading the virus.
Similar to vaccines, we protect others by protecting ourselves - it’s like the most basic form of hive immunity.
So it’s easy. If you can’t stay away from people, put on your mask. Don’t force others to MAKE you do what you’re already perfectly capable of.
Online: https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com
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July 11
The Brunswick News on remaining questions surrounding the killing of Ahmaud Arbery:
The Glynn County Police Department might as well face this sullen fact: suspicion will continue to surround the department’s ability to investigate serious crime like an omnipresent stench in the weeks, months and years ahead. It will until the department provides a satisfactory explanation why it required the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to complete an investigation in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery and file charges against three individuals more than two months later.
Glynn County is waiting. Was it uncertainty over whether a crime had been committed? Was it bad advice? Or was it simple incompetence? Was it favoritism granted one of their own - a man who once wore a police uniform?
Glynn police had obviously uncovered a lot of evidence in their investigation. That much is apparent by the swiftness in which the GBI made arrests. After two days in, the state police agency filed charges against two individuals and later a third.
It doesn’t seem likely that it would have been able to reach conclusions that fast without a solid head start courtesy the Glynn County Police Department.
Acting Glynn County Police Chief Jay Wiggins, thrown into the middle of it all after police chief John Powell departed on administrative leave, had an opportunity to shed some light on this controversy. While he did not plead the fifth, he might as well have during an open internet forum July 8. When asked about it, he declined to answer other than to say he could not comment on an active case.
That may very well be true. Sealed lips may be the proper course. But to Jane and John Q. Public, to many of those outside the often confusing and impenetrable, opaque ring of the legal or criminal justice system, it’s merely code for “scram.”
The really sad part of it all is public perception. Until citizens receive a reasonable explanation why a police department that costs them millions of dollars each year in taxes was unable to make an arrest in the Arbery shooting, the department’s integrity and adeptness will remain in question.
Citizens are not asking those making decisions for the police department to leap tall buildings. They are not Superman. Everyone knows this.
What they are asking for is something they deserve: the simple truth.
The men and women who patrol our streets are our mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, friends and neighbors. They deserve better too.
Jay Wiggins did an admirable job for the county and its citizens when he headed the Glynn County Emergency Management Agency as Capt. Jay Wiggins. He also deserves better.
Online: http://www.thebrunswicknews.com
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