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While it may be comforting to hear that no Jefferson County schools have been exposed, it would be more ACCURATE to report that there are as yet no KNOWN exposures in our schools, though there is one resident who has tested positive. What else is known about COVID 19 is that community transmission in Western Washington has been ongoing for at least six weeks. What is also known is that social distancing, which includes closure of schools, can be one of the most effective ways of slowing transmission and containing a new pathogen. See NY Times today: Coronavirus School Closings: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late; History teaches us that keeping children at home early in an outbreak can save lives. By Howard Markel. Dr. Markel studies the history of pandemics. While this virus may currently present itself with mild symptoms for children, it can be much more serious for older adults. The best way to prevent transmission will be to prevent large groups from gathering. The only places in our rural community where 300-400 people gather every day for several hours each day, sharing food, sharing restrooms, and viruses is our schools. And where do they go when they get out of school at the end of the day? They circulate throughout the whole community. So think about the health of the whole community, and ask the right questions! How many people in Jefferson County have so far been tested for this virus? How many test kits do our physicians even have access to right now? Think about the doctors and nurses on the front lines. How will our local critical access hospital manage health care when overwhelmed by an epidemic, without enough testing kits, with shortages in supplies and hospital beds? This is not fear mongering, this is science based critical thinking, and we need more of that in our local newspaper.