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Reply to "It is Past Time to Face Reality"

Something that has been on my mind, offered for your consideration:  A family member is president of an electric utility that serves millions of customers in the southern US.  I spoke with this person recently.  The lights have to stay on during the pandemic, of course, so they have linemen and other key folks working while wearing masks, practicing rigorous social distancing, etc.  Anyone who can work from home is doing so for now, which is more people than you might think.  They have had a few employee covid-19 cases, but only a few.  One of the big items on their agenda (obviously) is planning for the return of their workers to their offices, call centers and other usual locations.  The utility president said something that maybe is obvious, but gave me pause:  "Even if I tell my employees to return to work, a lot of them are going to stay home if they don't feel safe."  So the company says they need extensive, reliable testing, many gallons of sanitizer and lots of PPE, and it's not yet clear where or when that will be available.  This for an industry that is incontrovertibly "essential" and whose employees recognize this about their work.  We have a big job ahead of us as a nation.    

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