Last week, the Deseret News reported that Utah’s coronavirus cases are once again on the rise. Behind these alarming numbers lie individuals struggling to breathe, needing urgent medical attention, using ventilators or dying.
Utah isn’t the only locale suffering from spiking cases. Likewise, Central Europe is seeing an increase of cases, while France and the UK, among others, have experienced a deadly second wave.
Utah prides itself on being a compassionate place to live. We have a moral responsibility to not only help our neighbors by wearing a mask and social distancing, but to also help our international neighbors.
COVID-19’s main psychological weapon might be that it is a problem so vast, so universal — even inevitable — that we feel discouraged from taking positive action. However, there are things that we can do.
The International Affairs Budget funds all U.S. overseas humanitarian aid. The FY2021 budget now needs additional funding to fight COVID-19, which threatens 500 million people with poverty and 265 million with starvation.
As representatives of the Beehive State, Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney must lead the charge for this essential funding in Congress.
Elizabeth Broderick
South Jordan