LETTER: Media not telling us that state Covid deaths are ‘very minimal’

To Ozaukee Press:

Right now many media outlets are needlessly creating hysteria over Covid-19.
While very apparent that it is not as serious as initially thought, the media continues to scare the public into staying locked in the house. When the surge of Covid cases did not happen after the spring elections, the media decided to ramp things up by including pictures of health care workers wearing hazmat suits on the bottom of the screen during daily updates.

Networks were in a frenzy as the country reached 1 million cases, more than any other country. The way this is reported does not provide an accurate picture. Covid figures should be adjusted for populations. When you equalize populations, the U.S. is sixth in rate of positive cases. The percentage of Wisconsin residents that got Covid it is very minimal. Confirmed cases amount to approximately one-tenth of 1% percent of the population. Did news media tell you that? While anyone passing from Covid is sad, 55,000 people die in the Badger state every year.

It is time to turn the table and demand accurate news, not opinions. Come the fall, stories will resurface on Covid surges and the Ozaukee Press will run yet another editorial telling us to shelter in place. When a newspaper runs an editorial letting us know that they know more than us, wouldn’t you think they would attach a name to it instead of hiding behind the paper’s banner? Hmmm.

Lawrence Williamson
Port Washington
Editor’s note: The letter writer will not have to wait until fall. This week’s Ozaukee Press editorial urges people to continue to follow the social distancing guidelines of the CDC and the Trump administration Covid task force.