Take the odds in coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and reopen SC to business | Letters

As published Friday, May 1, there were 11 COVID-19 deaths in Beaufort County.

The population of Beaufort County is 192,122 people.

Dividing 11 by 192,122 equals 0.000057 or .0057%.

South Carolina had 244 deaths out of a population of 5,148,714.

Dividing 244 by 5,148,714 equals 0.000047 or 0.0047%.

In other words, a very small percentage of people will die from COVID-19.

I am willing to take those odds and open up businesses

Many more people are being hurt by shutting down the economy.

Of course, we should be careful, but we should not panic about something that has very little odds of killing us compared to many other activities we participate in every day.

Billy O’Neal

Beaufort

Bad lessons in the pandemic

Despite being out of school, the children of Beaufort County have received an excellent lesson in the dangers of unaccountable government and impulse towards arbitrary authoritarianism.

That lesson has been made clear by government officials who shut public access to beaches and waterways in an effort to contain the coronavirus. It didn’t seem to matter to these authoritarians that the safest place people could be is outside in the sunshine and fresh air.

You don’t have to be a virologist to recall the common sense found in the phrase “sunshine is the best disinfectant.”

William Bryan, science advisor at the Department of Homeland Security, appeared at a recent White House briefing and described research done by the department on the virus. Indoors, the virus can last for many hours. Outside, it survives less than two minutes.

But public officials don’t want you on the beach. They want you indoors, where the virus is more easily spread. Any child might wonder why they can’t go to the beach but watch as Mom and Dad queue up in the grocery store.

We were told we needed to take extreme measures to avoid overwhelming our hospitals. We have accomplished that goal.

We can maintain social distancing and still enjoy beaches and outdoor activities, even reopen shops and businesses safely.

The critical focus must remain on vulnerable populations, but there is no valid reason to destroy the economic well-being and undermine civil liberties of all citizens to achieve that.

Michael Miller

Bluffton

A time to discern the will of God

Let’s face it: We humans have proven to be poor housekeepers, with some exceptions, of course.

This is not a “holier than thou” letter. I, too, have done my share of harmful things to this planet and to my fellow human beings.

Morality, today, is at an all-time low. Some of today’s fashion designers produce clothing and swimwear so provocative and revealing that entice and engender a cesspool of lustful thoughts.

During this virus pandemic, many are calling for prayer. Would anyone like to wager that if the Creator lifted us out of this mess, we would not go right back to our old ways? “Thy will be done” quickly turns into “My will be done.”

And yet what do we really know of the will of God? When interpreted correctly, serious seekers can find it in the Bible. Jesus explained it in parables. He also spoke about another who would come after Him who “will guide you into all Truth” (John 16:13). This was the promised Comforter or Counselor.

In my late teens, I discovered a book that guided me through life. It was especially helpful to me during a 29-year police career in New York, and during times of crisis like the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In this book, “In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message,” the will of God was clearly explained within the context of the Laws of Creation or Natural Laws. More about it can be found on the web at www.grailmessage.com.

Gene Ceccarelli

Okatie