To the Editor:
Robert Hummell’s fine Letter to The Editor (5/21) showed why your article was misleading to link The Villages to five nearby cities which are experiencing high numbers of virus cases (“69 percent of tri-county COVID-19 cases in The Villages and 5 cities” — 5). He showed that the rate of infections in The Villages is far less than in the cities.
The lower numbers in Villages is even more surprising given the doomsday prophecies about The Villages that appeared from February through March in The New York Times, Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times, CNN and NPR that were part of a broader pattern that not only described Floridians as “morons” but also predicted, in essence, that The Villages would soon become a veritable death trap as overcrowded hospitals would be incapable of caring for the large number of Villagers who would be left without care. Of course, thank God and thanks to Villagers, that never happened.
So congratulations, fellow Villagers! But as we take pleasure in America’s gradual re-opening, it is more important than ever to stay on guard with social distancing and — when appropriate — face masks, gloves and other common sense precautions.
Let’s CONTINUE to prove the fear mongers wrong!
Ray Noble
De La Vista West
