Innkeeper Ariela Zucker, in her letter of July 26, says that she wants an “answer” from the governor “since she is the one who pulled the ground from under my feet.” Ms. Zucker is mistaken. It was the coronavirus that caused the severe consequences that she and others have endured, not the governor.

Indeed, we are all in it together: health care and essential workers, children who cannot attend school, men and women who live alone in isolation, small businesses not able to sustain themselves, the food insecure, those who have lost their jobs and, most of all, those who’ve had COVID-19 symptoms and especially those who died alone.

Gov. Mills was confronted with science that changed daily and she had to make decisions based on the best information currently available. She and Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine Center for Disease Control director, and their dedicated staffs met constantly to try to offer the best solutions; ones that caused the least damage. She modified her rules and orders based on what was happening in each county, on the availability of personnel, personal protective equipment and outbreaks in congregate settings.

Were people hurt? Absolutely. Were there people who profited from COVID-19? No doubt. Were there thousands of Mainers who stepped up to help others? There surely were.

So, we are truly sorry that innkeepers were hurt, but we think it is wrong to castigate those who made every effort in these troubling times to protect us all. Perhaps it is as they say: “No good deed goes unpunished.”

Sandy and Ole Jaeger
Georgetown