This past month, I watched my beloved home state experience its largest outbreak of the coronavirus, which started with an August wedding and continued to secondary and tertiary events. This outbreak, thus far, has resulted in three preventable deaths, 147 new infections, and the disruption of thousands of families’ highly-anticipated back-to-school plans, including delays and cancellations.

As a university-trained microbiologist, I recognize that these resulting higher community infection rates put all of the people in York County, including my parents, at greater risk for contracting the virus.

What makes this outbreak even more heartbreaking are the claims of religious suppression by individuals at the center of this outbreak to defend and justify the practices (large, indoor, maskless gatherings) that led and continue to fuel this outbreak. Rather than caring for the flock that God has entrusted to them, they are putting it in danger. Rather than following Jesus’s most fundamental teachings of loving thy neighbor, this flagrant disregard of simple precautions threatens the health and safety of thousands.

My argument to remember the basic premise of “What Would Jesus Do” is neither novel nor likely to change the minds of individuals whose actions are further emboldened by the continued rhetoric of the president and the GOP designed to equate limitations on gatherings with limitations on religious freedom. However, this outbreak has clearly demonstrated that the actions of a very few can impact many. I urge leaders to use their power to keep all of God’s children safe and healthy.

Charlotte Frank Sage
Acton, Mass.

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