Recent headlines were “Full Fair Could be a Huge Boom.” After the fair, headlines could be “Full Fair Causes Huge Boom of Covid-19”. To quote a fair board member in the article, “…we owe it to our community to have this fair. The fair is one of the biggest community gatherings in this county”. That is the very reason there should not be a ”full” fair. Concern for public safety is what is owed the community. All the state guidelines may be followed but their public enforcement would be impossible on grounds. Traveling amusement companies and concessionaires increase the risk of virus spread. Fairgoers will go back to their communities. Schools/colleges will reopen soon after. The ramifications of this on the spread of the virus are great. 68 counties have had a higher number of Covid-19 cases than Champaign County as of June 15. We should strive to continue this low incidence of cases. Many crowd-drawing events have been canceled for this summer/fall out of concern for the public’s health. We are disappointed and concerned for our county because of the decision to hold a “full” county fair.

Larry and Karen Headlee

Urbana