WINONA, Minn. – Reader letters to newspapers suggest broad public dissatisfaction with the City Council decision to revoke Mayor Scott Sherman’s face-mask mandate. Only one recent writer, retired Winna Post editor Frances Edstrom, favored the 4-3 Council vote. In an opinion piece in the Post, Edstrom called the mayor’s mandate ridiculous and intrusive. “Who are we protecting with such a wide mandate? People who have not been vaccinated, that’s who. The unvaccinated are the ones ending up in the hospital with the more severe cases of Covid. That should be a clear message to the unvaccinated that the odds are stacked against them.” Edstrom’s view was out step with letters from other opinion leaders. Here are excerpts extracted from influencer letters to the Daily News:
Barbara Burchill: “I don’t wear a mask to protect myself, I wear it to protect you and anyone else I might come in contact with. Even if I have no symptoms, I could be carrying the virus, especially if I had any contact with an asymptomatic individual who is carrying it.”
David Girod, activist: “People complain their rights are being violated, by mask or vaccine mandates. To those I respond, how about the rights of your children not to become ill, or worse yet, die. Personal rights be damned unless you have a legitimate medical reason for not doing either.”
Katrina Hammel. hospitalist: “We see both in our community, as well as the surrounding regional hospitals, that Covid admissions are increasing and increasing rapidly. The patients now are younger and quite a bit sicker. Providing care requires more resources, like personal protective equipment, oxygen, medicines, and medical devices such as ventilators — some of which are scarce. Here at Winona Health, we are caring for patients who have Covid both in the hospital and in the clinic. So far, we have not had to divert any patients, and we hope that doesn’t change. As much as science continues to amaze me day after day, we don’t have a whole lot that offers effective treatment once you need to be hospitalized after contracting Covid The majority of people will not need to be hospitalized. That’s irrefutable. But I worry about, and care for, the ones who are unlucky. Can science yet predict who will have severe disease? No. The most effective way to prevent ending up in the hospital is to not get Covid. And getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent severe illness and hospitalization if you do get the virus.”
Colette Hyman, history professor: “Thank you, Mayor Sherman, and Councilwomen Eyden and Moeller, for putting people before profits and data before dollars when voting to support a mask mandate. These elected officials acted in consideration of reports and recommendations prepared by experts immersed in science and evidence, whose jobs are to look after the health of community members. The others, Council members Alexander, Borzyskowsi, Repinski, and Young voted on the say-so of individuals looking after their own bottom lines.”
Mike Kennedy, of Bird-Song.com: “The height of hypocrisy is having a public meeting to make an informed decision on a current public health concern, then ignoring the researched and clearly presented opinions by several public health agencies, voting against the proposed solution and not explaining the reasoning behind that action”. Kennedy cited four anti-mask Council members Michelle Alexander, George Borzyskowski, Steve Young and Aaron Repinski, whom he quoted as saying they were listening to their constituents, then ignored “the qualified and informed presenters and cast a self perceived politically ($$) correct vote.” He continued: “To hell with the public safety concerns, their repeated we know better attitude is and will continue to deteriorate the trust our community needs in elected officials supposedly working for us Elections have consequences.”
Reggie McCleod, editor, Big River magazine: “For the last few weeks the Covid-19 infection rate in Winona County has been higher than nearby counties. Thanks to the recklessness of four Winona City Council members, the citizens of Winona are not protected by a mask mandate. Talk to your friends about what you see in Winona businesses. We need to take care of one another and our community. Our elected city council members Repinski, Young, Alexander and Borzyskowski, have let the majority of us down.”
Ellen Ott, pediatric nurse practicioner: “There is absolutely no inherent right to refuse to abide by reasonable public health measures. This has been upheld by the Supreme Court several times, including in smallpox and influenza outbreaks. The government does have the right to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens. Indeed, this is the government’s mandate. We need to talk less about our individual rights and freedoms and focus more on our responsibilities to each other.”
Ruth Rethlefsen: “What a disappointing vote by the Council, which denies us a greater protection against the delta variant.”
Dick Smith, retired auto salesman: “My compliments to Mayor Sherman for his gutsy mask mandate attempt. Nice try! And a big thumbs down to the seemingly uncaring Council people who overruled him and decided that they would rather see Winona’s citizens wearing another type of face wear — a ventilator!”