Congress must not leave Washington without passing COVID relief

Thank you to Blaine Flanders for powerfully describing the housing needs of our low-income neighbors (“Giving Voice: Affordable housing; causes of homelessness in Maine,” Dec. 11).  The economic devastation of this pandemic is making the problem so much worse.

New census data shows that nearly 83 million Americans — one in every four of us — reported difficulty covering rent, mortgage and food in November. The CDC’s eviction moratorium is about to end on Dec. 31.

Can you imagine becoming homeless in January?  During a pandemic?  Is that really who we want to be?

Some in Congress, including Sen. Susan Collins, are working on a COVID relief bill to make sure that families get some help, but pressure from all of us is needed to make sure it happens.

Calls to Rep. Pingree’s office and Sens. Collins’ and King’s office do make a difference! Tell them Congress must not leave Washington without passing COVID relief that includes rental assistance, a strong national eviction moratorium, and a boost to SNAP (food stamps) benefits.

Carolyn Prouty,
Phippsburg

Americans need more education about disease

Almost daily we read numbers of COVID cases and numbers on the year and so on. The public, the readers of various newspapers are not being educated. The numbers are never explained to help the public get a grasp of what these covid case numbers actually mean and any associated information.

We are never given numbers of false positives and an explanation of what this means.

The highly controversial PCR test that is being used is not being explained to the public.

This highly controversial pandemic is being presented almost in the same fashion as a soccer or football game with simple numbers and no meaningful explanations or questions. I truly feel the public needs educated and not everyone goes on the internet to research this information that even varies from country to country as well as various research and educational institutions.

There are numerous scientists and medical experts who do not agree with the official perspective.

The New England Journal of Medicine wrote a damning commentary about the way this issue has been handled in the USA. This commentary was not simply criticizing how this pandemic was turned into an economic/political game instead of purely a humanitarian concern!

We cannot be afraid of truths any longer. I know there are politics in newspaper publications as well. America needs more integrity and greater sensitivity toward humanity and life in general.

Joseph Ciarrocca,
Brunswick

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