On August 17, 28 cases of Covid infection were reported in people who had attended the E. Millinocket wedding just 10 days earlier. As the science tells us, Covid can show up within two weeks of exposure even if there are no symptoms.

Now, 12 days after that report, the number of infected people has jumped to 123 including those in a nursing home and a jail 200 miles away. The Millinocket school openings are delayed because of new cases in people who were in contact with wedding goers.

This is what contagious diseases do. They spread between people exponentially, rising at a steady and rapid rate with each exposed person likely to pass the disease along to two or three others that they come into contact with.

Covid 19 is real. It’s not a hoax or exaggerated or going away anytime soon. No amount of denial or squelching the numbers or ignorance is going to stop it despite what the White House says. Covid does not discriminate by race, age, social status, or political affiliation. Trump supporters are as likely to get it as Biden ones, especially if they follow the president’s lead.

Covid is a germ spread by human behavior. Unfortunately, a small group of self-centered people are messing things up for all of us. The economy is not going to improve until the disease is under control, and we can’t get it under control until people are able to control their own behavior.

It will be months, possibly years, before at least 80 to 95 percent of the population is immunized after a vaccination is approved for “herd immunity” to take effect. The only thing that can slow the spread of Covid-19 down in the meantime is changing human behavior. We can do this, folks. It’s just not that hard. Wearing a mask and maintaining social distance is not a political statement; it’s common sense.

Linda Buckmaster lives in Belfast