Dear Editor,
Upon reading this week’s edition of THE EQUITY I was appalled to see this headline on the front page, “COVID-19 Update: Valu-mart employee tests positive, Outaouais region shifts into the orange zone.”
Should we not be supporting local businesses in this difficult time as opposed to outing them? Especially those businesses who have been so supportive of our community throughout the entire pandemic?
What was the purpose of . . .
including the specific location of a COVID case in this article? To incite unnecessary panic in the public? To add shock value and catch the attention of readers? We should never be surprised to hear of anyone we know or any business we shop at announcing a COVID case. The only possible outcome of such a headline would be for the public to think that Valu-mart is a dangerous place. If the store was dangerous, it wouldn’t be open. A virus temporarily lives in people, not in places.
In the article in question it states “The Pontiac service area (RLS) continues to have five or less active cases (minimum one) while the total case count has gone up by five since Feb. 15, standing at 71 as of Feb. 22.” I’m glad this statistic was included as it’s sobering for the many people who think that the necessity of wearing a mask is a scam. However if you chose to report this one case that affected a local business, why haven’t you reported the workplaces of the other 70 individuals in the Pontiac who were previously affected?
Living in a small community, we should be extra respectful of the privacy of others. It’s sickening to see people going on a COVID witch hunt when they themselves could be asymptomatic and unknowingly passing the virus onto others. It’s in our community. We need to wake up. The Pontiac is not untouchable.
The truth of the matter is that any store in our community could have had or currently have staff who test positive for COVID-19. This is a reality workers have been dealing with for almost a year now. Any time spent in public could result in contracting the virus and in these professions interacting with the public is unavoidable. There is no assurance of personal safety anywhere so please continue wearing a mask, washing/sanitizing hands and social distancing. It’s the least we can all do to protect everyone.
Lila Galipeau
Thorne, Que.
