To the Editor:

I am not writing about a political issue but a health issue. I am a senior citizen with a heart condition placing me in a high-risk category, so am extremely concerned about staying COVID-19 free.

Therefore it is discouraging to visit grocery stores and see many people without masks. I wear mine to protect you and your family in case I have the virus and don’t show any symptoms and don’t know I have it. I would hope you would care about protecting me and my family from the possibility that you may have it. My life and that of others may depend on it. I have many friends who fear going to the stores for this reason. One friend has an extremely high-risk young child and is afraid she will bring it back home to him.

Some stores do have special hours for high-risk shoppers and the opportunity to order online and pick up, but that is limiting and shoppers not wearing masks may also shop during those special hours so the masked shoppers are still exposed to those unmasked shoppers. I heard this quote in several places: “having some people wear masks and some not is like having a peeing section in the swimming pool.”

A solution to this could be to establish morning mask-only shopping for a few hours each day, leaving the vast majority of shopping time available to mask-optional shoppers.

I was at Haywood Appliances in Clyde the other day and was pleased to note that no one was allowed in without a mask and some were provided. I’m also hearing that most, if not all, airlines are requiring all passengers to wear one. I also heard the CEO of Walmart state that one of his main concerns was customers who did not follow CDC guidelines for wearing masks and maintaining social distance from others.

If you are also concerned, please share this idea with the managers of local stores you use. We’re all in this together, so let’s help each other stay safe and stop the spread.

Nancy Copeland

Waynesville