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Editorial

Hockey tournament takes ugly turn

Late Thursday afternoon, the Western UP Health Department’s Kate Beer sent out an press release stating that a recent youth hockey tournament at the Calumet Colosseum was being deemed, through contract tracing, to be a possible COVID-19 super-spreader event, according to the Marquette County Heath Department. The Daily Mining Gazette Editorial Board cannot express, in any uncertain terms, the need to everyone involved in youth sports, from the coaches and parents, to the players themselves, need to adhere to the guildlines set forth by health departments across the state. The DMG, ...

COVID-19 milestone a national tragedy that continues to unfold

Some milestones are great, some are not so great. The milestone reached earlier this week — the 500,000 fatality total due to COVID-19 in the U.S. — is beyond not so great. It’s terrible, depressing, unthinkable — the adjectives go on, and they’re all negative. Other countries have fared better than the U.S., and we need to acknowledge that fact and get past it. The Washington Post quoted Anthony Fauci, the top infectious-disease expert in the U.S., as telling Reuters that those half a million people should not have died of COVID-19, considering the U.S. is one of the ...

Political climate isn’t improving, even after election

Here’s a question we’d like someone to answer for us: When will the political climate improve in this country? Think it already has with the defeat of Donald Trump? Sorry, no. The impeachment trial of the former president is set to launch in the U.S. Senate Tuesday. Get ready for a torrent of bile to flow from that mess and go on flowing for who knows how long. And now, much closer to home, a group based downstate is seeking to defund U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet. Defund, as we understand it, means convince the people and entities that contribute to the election ...

A week to talk about family fire safety in the home

State officials recommended families review fire safety plans at home during National Community Risk Reduction Week, which started Monday and extended through Sunday. “The number one thing that families should focus on is creating a fire escape plan,” said Orlene Hawks, director of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. “Develop your plan and then practice it often. If a fire occurs in your home, get out, stay out and then call for help. It is important to teach our family members not to go back inside the house for any reason.” Based on fatal fire data collected ...

We all have to be careful

For months, now, closing in on a year, we have heard about the dangers of the coronavirus and heard that some of us — the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions or compromised immune systems — are especially at risk of serious complications if they contract the virus. While that remains true, a recent analysis by News staff writer Julie Riddle of the demographics of the infected shows we all have to be careful. While Northeast Michiganders who’ve died after being infected have all been elderly, those who’ve contracted the virus span all age groups, with ...

Vaccine registration system a dismal patchwork

It’s a long road to 70 percent. That’s the mark health officials say we need to hit with vaccine inoculations to build herd immunity against COVID-19. And after the first few weeks of vaccine distribution, it feels even further away as public health officials struggle to move doses from inventory to arms. It’s probably the most important arms race our state and nation have ever faced, and we can’t help feeling like we’re falling behind. It’s especially frustrating in Michigan where it appears state public health leaders haven’t yet managed to institute any sort of ...