Editorial: Helping each other in pandemic

Bad situations can bring out the best in people.

It can also bring out the worst.

People are scared and unsure in the coronavirus pandemic. They don’t know what’s coming next on the economic roller coaster, and they are nervous about grocery shopping and opening doors. And let’s just admit that no matter how much people love their families, being behind closed doors for an extended period is stressful for everyone.

Some people are facing this by doing what they can to help. There are those who are working hard in hospitals, ambulances, pharmacies and grocery stores to treat the sick and keep the healthy going. There are also those who are finding other ways to contribute.

They are donating money. They are donating food. They are donating protective equipment from their businesses. Some people are even making masks to try to provide some measure of safety to those who need it.

People are providing concerts online or finding new ways to reach out to the homebound. If there is a way to help, people are working to find it.

Then there are the people who do the opposite.

There are those who are price gouging on respirator masks and hand sanitizer. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has issued cautions about scams involving the federal coronavirus aid checks approved Friday as part of a $2.2 trillion assistance package.

And there are people like the woman who walked into a Luzerne County grocery store and proceeded to cough on food in the bakery, in the produce section, in the meat case and on the grocery shelves.

Coronavirus is a respiratory virus from the same family as the common cold and can be spread through droplets like those that spray from a cough. While the woman was not believed to have the coronavirus, Gerrity’s Supermarket ended up throwing away $35,000 worth of groceries because of potential contamination.

Everything that is happening in other states and other countries tells us that more people in Allegheny and Westmoreland and other surrounding counties will become infected. The numbers keep going up. So will the stress.

We will all come through this a lot better if we cope by helping each other instead of spreading the hurt.