With the weather warming up to temperatures that require people to run our air conditioning or have windows down in their vehicles, it must be taken into consideration the restrictions placed on families and the potential for dangerous situations for elder family members and children.

Because of concerns for society and their unnecessary exposure to others, hospitals, pharmacies and grocery stores are limiting who may attend appointments and enter facilities. But parents/caregivers may not have alternate resources to look after their children or elderly parents. That poses a greater potential for harm to children and elderly persons being left in a vehicle while their family member is in the hospital for an appointment, or waiting for a prescription, or waiting to have labs drawn, or obtaining groceries. The risk is much higher than would occur without the pandemic.

The potential deadly situation for those precious souls is preventable. Local businesses, hospitals, pharmacies should review and modify current attendance policies to allow parents/adults to bring in those they look after with them to appointments if they have no other option. Masking those family members will ensure a safe compromise for the community.

Growing up in a town near two big casinos and seeing headlines, year after year in the summer, of children left in a vehicle to be found hours later no longer able to be revived, I am very concerned we may encounter this very soon.

We can prevent this. Please.

Whitney King-Buker, Minot

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