by Wendy Holden (5-14-20)
https://www.theolympian.com/opinion/op-ed/article242693421.html?
My Grandma, Cora Pearl, and mother-in-law, Leone, were survivors of the 1918 flu and quarantines of serious infectious diseases before antibiotics and vaccines were developed.
Leone told the story of her large family — except for her and her sister — being stricken with the Spanish Flu. Then 8 years old and 10 years old, they fed the family, milked the cows, fed the chickens, chopped wood and hauled water on their dry homestead in rural north Idaho.
When all had recovered, they went around to check on their neighbors. They found one entire neighboring family dead in their home.
Grandma described a quarantine of their homestead in Illinois before World War II during an outbreak of scarlet fever, which is the disease caused by the Strep bacteria, common before antibiotics. Several of their children were stricken. Only the doctor could visit, and no one could leave the property, not even the field hands.
Flags left at the mailbox let people know they were quarantined, and if they needed anything. Neighbors supplied what they asked for at the mailbox.
Her youngest, Elizabeth, died. She knew she was dying — she asked her sisters to keep her things, and make sure people did not forget her. We still have her little box. She died, and my mother was left with a lifelong heart murmur and one working kidney.
When the illness had passed, everything was burned — clothing, bedding, mattresses — and the rooms were aired and left empty for a time after deep cleaning.
There was no shopping or leaving home. No Amazon or Instacart. It was understood that contagious illnesses often meant death, disfigurement or disability. People did not mess around. You kept separate for the good of the community. The community helped as it could from a distance. And the quarantines had the force of law.
There is no God-given or Constitution-given right to potentially expose others to deadly disease. Quarantine emergency authority is explicit in most states’ statutes, including Washington’s. Gov. Inslee’s actions are well within his authority as governor.
COVID-19 kills people of all ages and even those who survive are often sick for weeks or months after. We still do not know long-term affects.
You anti-maskers? Quit whining and protect your fellow community members by covering your mouth and nose when you are out. The more we all do this, the more we can come to a new normal with more ability to go out and about. Ignore this small step and more people will sicken and die. You might be one of them.
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