The upswing in positive COVID-19 cases in our area is not evidence that mask-wearing and other guidelines such as handwashing and social distancing are ineffective or unnecessary as claimed in several letters to the editor.
Instead it is evidence of what happens when some defy health coronavirus guidelines such as wearing masks or wearing them in an ineffective manner, below the nose, under the chin, etc.
Statements urging people to quit wearing masks cannot be dismissed as simply the blandishments of the wilfully uninformed.
They encourage selfish, arrogant behavior that is a danger to the community.
Please listen to our local health officials and refrain from attending gatherings where the guidelines are not being observed. It is vital to help us curb the spread of COVID-19.
Karen Rozbicki Stringer
Sequim