By Edison Liu and Jill Goldthwait Social distancing, travel restrictions, shelter-in-place and lockdowns are all blunt instruments in fighting a pandemic. This is because all of these approaches assume everyone is suspect in carrying the virus, and therefore the interventions target everyone. This is further complicated by the fact that at the same time …
In a matter of days, the economy came to a screeching halt. In a matter of days, most of the hospitality workforce found themselves filing for unemployment as the state Legislature worked to waive waiting periods. The so-called gig economy also dried up and phones stopped ringing for self-employed tradespeople. Fishermen have been asked to …
In his famously reassuring line to a preschool audience, Fred Rogers said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Americans take for granted that when an emergency strikes, the calvary is on …
By Edison T. Liu and Jill Goldthwait Editor’s note: This series of columns is about the COVID-19 pandemic, but specifically deals with social distancing: what is it, why do we need it, how to do it right. It is written by Edison Liu and Jill Goldthwait who are both medical professionals who have broad governmental, scientific and management experience. Goldthwait is an R.N. who …
By Edison Liu and Jill Goldthwait Social distancing means keeping people apart to minimize the chances of catching COVID-19 and to reduce the chances of spreading the disease. Implementing social distancing can be done at the individual level which is focused on a person not catching COVID-19 or at a population level to slow the spread of the pandemic across large groups of people. You can …
Just as Vacationland was thinking about painting signs and washing sidewalks, disaster struck. COVID-19 has reached Maine and turned our lives upside down. The first concern must be for the health of both residents and travelers. Just how that health is best protected is debatable. It must be utterly devastating to be the owner of …
To the Editor: I want to thank Hannaford for all you are doing for our community. I see you and your employees on the same plane of gratitude we owe the first responders and heath care workers. You are truly on the front lines of this pandemic. Your employees cannot social distance as you serve hundreds of people a day providing essential …
To the Editor: I received an email from a dear friend in Switzerland telling about the challenges they are facing to maintain their sense of community as they hunker down to defeat COVID-19. What struck me most was that everyone in all communities across the country pause and ring their bells at 7 p,m, each night to …
To the Editor: Right now, the only defense against COVID 19 is prevention. We have no acquired immunity, no vaccine, no effective treatment. The virus is carried into each new area somehow. Quickly detecting cases and stopping its spread is much easier the fewer cases one has to discover. We are now all making many …
To the Editor: This publication recently published a letter to the editor that portrayed an unfair and biased depiction of Senator Susan Collins’ record (Islander, Mar. 12). As the most bipartisan member of the US Senate, it’s unsurprising that those who hold hyper-partisan views take issue with her record, but I think it’s important to stick with …
