I received an email recently from my health care provider, MaineHealth, telling me that because they are overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, I’m pretty much out of luck if I need health care.

Taylor Bourque, R.N., dons personal protective equipment while working in the negative-pressure COVID-19 wing of Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway last week. “COVID-19 cases … these days comprise roughly half of the hospital’s average daily census of 22 inpatients,” columnist Bill Nemitz recently reported. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

I am incredibly disappointed and frightened by Gov. Mills’ failure to address the health crisis we are now facing. Daily we hit new highs of COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, ventilator use and deaths. Daily we hear from hospital officials about how the system is on the brink of failure.

In response, Mills has called out the National Guard to provide assistance at hospitals and called upon people to use “common-sense” measures to protect themselves and to get vaccinated.

It’s not working, and we can see it in our daily life. People are shopping, attending holiday events, packed into small spaces with minimal mask usage. Pandemic, what pandemic? The daily rise in the grim numbers reflects this behavior.

There’s a well-worn phrase that “common sense isn’t so common.” Trite, but true, especially today.

Gov. Mills’ strategy isn’t working. We are literally dying, and, given what hospital administrators are saying, we may be dying in the streets soon.

Gov. Mills needs to step up and be the leader we elected her to be. It’s time for her and her administration to impose some limits because we do not seem to be capable of adequately caring for ourselves.

Every parent knows that they will have to make unpopular decisions to keep their children safe. I hate to say it, but right now we’re acting like children.

John Gold
Saco

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