I write to thank Gov. Janet Mills for her knowledgeable, data-driven leadership in this disorienting pandemic time we are living through. I have no doubt many people are alive today thanks to her leadership.

I hear many fellow Mainers calling loudly for the state to open completely. I have heard more than one person saying wishfully that there must be some other way to keep our elders (that includes me) safe than continuing the shutdown.

Wishful and magical thinking will get many people killed.

I appreciate Gov. Mills’ willingness to listen to epidemiologists such as Nirav Shah, MD, rather than following “gut feelings,” as prominent powerful figures have encouraged.

Jane Pentheny, Poland