I don’t understand how people can cry foul over possible nursing home deaths related to state policy during COVID-19 while supporting Marlena’s restaurant in staying open in a pandemic.
COVID-19 is spread the same way in nursing homes as it is in restaurants, grocery stores and homes — by respiratory droplets and airborne particles. Wiping down surfaces where virus may have landed, a measure praised by some of Marlena’s supporters, is a helpful practice, but must be accompanied by respiratory precautions such as adequate distance between people, masks that decrease droplet spread and avoiding crowds, particularly indoors.
The local legislators who demonstrated at Marlena’s would serve our community better by promoting public health measures than by supporting a restaurant owner who persisted in breaking the law and patrons who ate there.
Roger Victory, Aric Nesbitt, Mary Whiteford and Steve Johnson called for Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate nursing home deaths instead of detaining Marlena Pavlos-Hackney.
It is inconsistent to say one cares about nursing home residents one has never met while refusing to take measures that demonstrate concern for people sharing one’s breathing space. Nursing home policies and restaurant regulations must both safeguard lives.
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