On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 Americans died in a terrorist attack. On each of two days last week, over 3,000 Americans succumbed to COVID-19.
In the last month the disease has killed about 50,000 Americans. It took almost nine years for 58,000 Americans to die in Vietnam.
In the 41 months the United States fought in World War II, approximately 400,000 lost their lives in combat. In only nine months of COVID-19, the disease has killed about 300,000 Americans. Without a change in behavior, that number is likely to reach 400,000 by April.
Even during the Civil War, when Americans killed each other over four long years, the combat deaths numbered less than 670,000.
In fact, the only thing that has killed Americans as fast and as furiously as COVID was the flu epidemic in 1918-1919, which killed 675,000 Americans in little more than a year.
People must do their patriotic duty, and respect the lives of themselves and others. Wear a mask; wash their hands; stay home if they can and exercise social distance if they can’t.
James Richter, Lewiston
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.