Today's letters: Readers comment on COVID testing, a hospital experience and city council
COVID surges and home testing
Newspapers are rife with alarming headlines of increasing COVID cases and claims that cases are underreported. Increasing cases are not indicators of the seriousness of surges, and every test does not have to be reported to know when a surge is underway.
The omicron surges are shorter and less severe with reduced hospitalizations and deaths than previous surges even though Omicron variants are more contagious and produce more cases. Omicron surges also have fewer long-term effects than previous surges.
Many states and cities continue to use the cases per capita from the Alpha and Delta surges to trigger restrictions and mandates. Philadelphia reinstituted mask mandates based on very small increases in cases that are not valid for the current variants, and then had to rescind the mandate four days later when cases leveled and hospitalizations declined.
If you want to know if a surge is underway, just look at test results from younger people. The 20- to 30-year-olds are the first to test positive and transmit the virus to older populations. The younger populations are more susceptible to transmission because they have to go to work, are more mobile, less vaccinated and wear masks less.
Home tests are unreported and are being given to people older than 65 by Medicare. The lives saved by frequent home testing of older people are far more beneficial than any reporting benefits. By the time older people show increases in cases, the surge will be well underway fueled by younger people who are not home testing.
John Haseltine, Ocala
Great hospital experience
Last week I had foot surgery performed at Marion Surgery Center. My experience was so positive that I wanted to share it with your readers. All members of the staff made me feel so comfortable and welcome. We have a great asset in our community in this surgery center, and I wanted to share my experience.
Steve Rothenburg, Ocala
Questionable decisions
We have lived here for 27 years, and as time has gone on, we have grown increasingly disappointed in the direction our city has gone. Ocala is such a wonderful place to live, so now I have a few questions for our city council members.
Who approved the monstrosity of a hotel on the downtown square? This eyesore took the quaint downtown atmosphere and ruined it. Did we actually need this ugly building there? There wasn't any other piece of property that was close to downtown that could have been used? What did the developer/builder actually pay for this parcel of land?
Who approved the permits for the huge developments that are being started in various parts of the city? The apartments going up downtown and near the "S" curve will certainly add to the traffic issues. Where are the children going to attend school? Neither Osceola nor Eighth Street Elementary are large schools. And then there's the housing development in the northeast section where the developers basically plundered the land so that there are no trees or plants standing. Is there no addendum to the contracts these developers/builders sign that states they need to leave a certain percentage of trees?
Are our cars so dirty that we need multiple car washes within miles of each other?
Lori Grace, Ocala
Write to us
Send a letter to the editor (up to 250 words) to osbletters@starbanner.com. Letters must include the writer's full name and city of residence. Guest columns of up to 750 words are also accepted on a limited basis. More information on submitting letters and columns can be found at bit.ly/starbanneropinion.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: June 5 letters: Readers comment on COVID, hospital and city council
