This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated October 9, 2020
Last week, this column focused on the many pedestrian deaths across Southern Brooklyn since 2019, after 7-year-old Sama Ali was struck and killed by an armored truck in Bath Beach on September 28.
Similar to the circumstances of the death of 3-year-old Emur Shavkator a few blocks away in 2019, Sama was also hit while on her scooter in a crosswalk. And just one week after Sama’s death, a 4-year-old boy was left in critical condition after being struck be a minivan while on his scooter in a crosswalk in Gerritsen Beach.
Our communities have held far too many vigils the past two years for children who were killed while crossing the street. Continuing to make our streets safer is imperative to the wellbeing of our kids who, during this pandemic, are already facing multiple challenges.
On October 4, Mayor de Blasio announced that schools would be closing in zip codes with coronavirus positivity rates exceeding three percent. Governor Cuomo approved the measure the following day, meaning that all in-person instruction would be halted in neighborhoods such as Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Homecrest, Sheepshead Bay, and Gerritsen Beach.
Schools had only reopened the week before. Though there is concern about whether open schools could lead to spread of the virus, the recent rise in cases cannot be attributed to the two to four days of live classes that preceded the limited shutdowns now enacted. Cases are on the rise because of many people are not adhering to the simple precautions proven to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Just as all drivers need to be more attentive and slow down in order to reduce the number of children being killed on our streets, everyone must wear their masks and maintain proper social distancing in order to minimize the number of people contracting coronavirus, which is the only way we can expect in-person school to ever be a possibility.
Besides COVID-19 itself, there seems to be a pandemic of people who do not accept the recommended guidelines and flout the mandates put in place to limit community spread of the virus. Despite the fact the CDC Director said in July that we could have the pandemic under control in four to eight weeks if everyone just wore a mask, many are still adamant that masks are not necessary or effective.
It does not help that President Trump “wanted to always play it down,” which is what he told Bob Woodward on tape in March after admitting to him a month before that he knew “This is deadly stuff… You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed.”
Just a few weeks ago, Trump said the coronavirus “affects virtually nobody,” which is clearly not the case when more than 7 million of Americans have been infected and 200,000-plus have died from it. None of them were nobody; not the victims nor their families.
I am certain President Trump does not consider himself nobody, yet we learned on October 2 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. A few nights earlier at the presidential debate, as he has done many times before, he mocked Joe Biden for his diligent mask-wearing. Trump’s White House is notorious for there being little to no masks seen on those working in his administration, which is likely why so many who attended a White House event several days earlier also contracted the virus.
“Besides COVID-19 itself, there seems to be a pandemic of people who do not accept the recommended guidelines and flout the mandates put in place to limit community spread of the virus.”
On October 4, Trump briefly left Walter Reed hospital to take a ride past supporters so he could wave at them. Though he was supposed to be in isolation, he forced Secret Service agents to ride inside a vehicle with him.
The following day, he told Americans, “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” When he returned to the White House that evening, the first thing he did was remove his mask before walking inside past multiple staff members.
People are already tired of pandemic restrictions. A concerning number of Americans already do not believe they are necessary. Tens of millions believe whatever he says. Make no mistake, President Trump’s irresponsible actions are going to kill many more people and lead to more restrictions.
