Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers:
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May 27
The Brunswick News on legislation that would increase the amount of medical supplies manufactured in the U.S.:
Tired of hearing about critical shortages of essential medical supplies, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter is joining U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in proposing a plan to return their manufacture to the USA. They’ve dubbed their legislation the MADE in America Act.
The acronym MADE stands for Manufacturing API, Drugs and Excipients. API is an acronym for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.
Rep. Carter, the Pooler Republican whose district includes Glynn and surrounding counties, is fully aware the United States will have to do more than simply ask industries to return or locate to U.S. soil. Most scampered overseas to nations like China because of the availability of cheap labor and less restrictive controls. They saved a bundle by uprooting their processes and plopping them down within the borders of countries starved for jobs and economic development.
Congress even helped them. In addition to other monetary incentives, it passed free trade pacts with foreign governments around the globe. Getting them back will be a super-sized undertaking.
Rep. Carter and Sen. Scott think they have just the magic to do it. Any industry that agrees to reestablish itself in specified areas to be known as American Opportunity Zones will receive special incentives, including tax breaks.
While their plan to lure vital industries back to these shores sounds potentially fruitful, it may be flawed. American Opportunity Zones, for example, would include targeted regions in U.S. territories. That includes Puerto Rico, where the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017 made Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea in 1864 look like an ice cream run.
Maria took out much of nation’s rickety infrastructure, shutting down industries like Baxter International, a major supplier of IV bags used by hospitals and emergency teams to deliver life-saving medicine intravenously to injured or sick patients. All three of the company’s plants were knocked out of operation, creating frightening shortages.
The federal Food and Drug Administration kept a close eye on the sharply decreased availability of 80 drug products manufactured in Puerto Rico, including 40 drugs. Puerto Rico is a major producer of pharmaceuticals, manufactures drugs for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The territory’s leading exports are medicine and medical supplies, in fact. The list includes blood thinners and arthritis drugs.
With climatologists and other weather experts forecasting more highly destructive storms in the future, Puerto Rico might be a risky place to relocate more makers of medical supplies.
While no place is perfectly safe, there are communities in the states where a large producer of important medicines and medical supplies would be far safer than in Puerto Rico. Rep. Carter and Sen. Scott should know that.
Online: https://thebrunswicknews.com
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May 27
The Augusta Chronicle on churches reopening:
Bless their hearts.
No doubt faith leaders are eager to reopen their houses of worship whose doors have been closed by the coronavirus pandemic. Several areas across the country are reporting drops in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
But news of these reopenings provides an instructive primer on how to perform these reopenings safely - or unsafely.
In the “unsafely” file: In Washington state - where the nation’s first travel-related coronavirus case was detected - Covenant Christian Church in Spokane opened for spiritual business on May 24.
A newspaper reported that there “seemed to be a large crowd in attendance, all standing close to one another. No masks were evident.” Pastor Ken Peters preached that he felt a duty to fight a “satanic” agenda against a return to normal public worship.
We hope Peters is praying he achieves a different result from that of Bishop Gerald O. Glenn of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond, Va. He held church services throughout March against health officials’ advice. Glenn said he would continue “unless I’m in jail or the hospital.”
Glenn died from COVID-19 on April 11.
It’s not just happening in the United States. On May 23, Reuters reported that more than 40 people tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a service at Gospel Christian Baptist Church in Frankfurt, Germany.
Bear in mind, Germany is being held up to the rest of the world as a shining example of handling COVID-19. “How Germany contained the coronavirus” was the headline over a column published May 23 by the World Economic Forum.
Locally, most churches are erring on the side of caution by staying closed - definitely no fault in that. But we like what we see among churches that are resuming normal worship services after careful deliberation and by instituting wise precautions.
Augusta-area Catholic churches reopened for services May 25 after restrictions were lifted by the Diocese of Savannah, which sent extensive guidelines for safety measures to all parishes. For example, worshippers will notice there are no hymnals - unsanitized objects held by multiple people could spread the bug.
Churches are still wisely instructing their most medically fragile and at-risk members to continue to stay home. If you consider yourself safer at home, stay.
Trumpet in Zion Fellowship is holding its annual revival at the Augusta Exchange Club Fairgrounds this week. Many folding chairs under the tent were marked off-limits, and some rows were cordoned off with caution tape, to encourage social distancing. Being in the open air is another bonus in avoiding the virus.
President Donald Trump showed on May 22 why he’s the favorite among evangelicals and conservative religious voters, by urging the rest of the nation’s governors to allow places of worship to reopen. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp lifted the restriction April 20.
“In America, we need more prayer, not less,” Trump said.
We agree - and would add that one of the best characteristics of prayer is that you can do it anywhere. That circles back to freedom of choice: Don’t go to church if you don’t feel medically safe.
As for defiant pastors elsewhere who insist on packing their pews, we’d encourage them to turn in their Bibles to Proverbs 27:12. One translation: “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”
Online: https://www.augustachronicle.com
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May 26
The Valdosta Daily Times on water safety during swim season:
We don’t ever want to have to report on another drowning.
It’s that time of year when people are enjoying the backyard pool, going to the river, the lake or the beach, even during the pandemic.
Whether fishing, swimming, skiing or just boating with family and friends, a lot of people enjoy themselves on area lakes during the summer months.
Drinking and boating can be just as dangerous as drinking and driving - and in some ways even more dangerous.
In Georgia, the legal blood alcohol content for operating a boat is the same as for driving a car.
A blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or more is boating while under the influence.
Just as you would have a designated driver when you know your group or party will be consuming alcohol, have a designated skipper on the water.
Always make sure children are wearing approved life vests.
We want to remind you of these water safety tips from the American Red Cross:
- Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
- Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone.
- Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate water orientation and swimming courses.
– Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
- Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
- Establish rules for your family and enforce them without fail. For example, set limits based on each person’s ability, do not let anyone play around drains and suction fittings, and do not allow swimmers to hyperventilate before swimming under water or have breath-holding contests.
- Even if you do not plan on swimming, be cautious around natural bodies of water including ocean shorelines, rivers and lakes. Cold temperatures, currents and underwater hazards can make a fall into these bodies of water dangerous.
- If you go boating, wear a life jacket. Most boating fatalities occur from drowning.
- Avoid alcohol use. Alcohol impairs judgment, balance and coordination; affects swimming and diving skills; and reduces the body’s ability to stay warm.
- If you have an above-ground or inflatable pool, remove access ladders and secure the safety cover whenever the pool is not in use.
- Remove any structures that provide access to the pool, such as outdoor furniture, climbable trees, decorative walls and playground equipment.
- Keep toys that are not in use away from the pool and out of sight. Toys can attract young children to the pool.
In the event of a water-related emergency, the Red Cross has said:
- If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
- Know how and when to call 911 or the local emergency number.
- If you own a home pool or hot tub, have appropriate equipment, such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets and a first-aid kit.
- Enroll in home pool safety, water safety, first aid and CPR/AED courses to learn how to prevent and respond to emergencies.
We hope everyone can enjoy the summer season and our waterways but first and foremost be safe and keep your family safe.
Online: https://www.valdostadailytimes.com
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