I was both surprised and dismayed by former Green Independent state Rep. John Eder’s letter of July 24 (“Maine legislators must seek end to onerous COVID rules”). It was not an assessment I would have expected from a Green Independent office holder on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citing a low percentage of deaths in Maine, while dismissing and diminishing those deaths to an effect of old age and infirmity, is a cruel misinterpretation of the statistics. It represents a distrust of science, something I find disturbing coming from someone who, at one time, represented the progressive values of the Maine Green Independent Party.

While the governor’s efforts in trying to mitigate and control the virus in Maine have been difficult, indeed devastating, to many businesses and individuals, they have been effective, as his cited numbers indicate.

Businesses and individuals cannot thrive if people are so sick they cannot work and hospitals are jammed with the sick and dying. That’s not just hyperbole, it is happening in our country today. Thankfully, not here in Maine.

I ask Mr. Eder to please rethink his take on the state’s response and take heart that Maine has one of the lowest rates of infection because our state government has listened to the voices of science and taken swift and effective action to slow the spread of the virus.

Paul Morrissey

Portland

« Previous

Letter to the editor: Tourist visits to Maine islands a danger to residents

Next »

Letter to the editor: Unmarked vans, secret police have grim historical parallels