It seemed that the pandemic only began when fear wove its way into the national consciousness.

Persistent worry, a constant stream of thoughts about mitigating risk, knowledge that your body could fail you with little notice or recourse. These experiences โ€“ all hallmarks of my life with a chronic illness โ€“ once alienated me from a world designed for healthy people.

Starting in March, they were everywhere. It seemed that COVID-19 might shrink this experiential gap. Perhaps the crisis would broaden peopleโ€™s perspectives and force our government to do more to help those in need. I should have known better.

For too many people, the lessons we learned in the spring have been forgotten.

Our initial national peak was 33,000 daily infections; we have averaged over 40,000 a day for four months straight. We have surpassed 100,000 infections for the past 12 days. New Hampshire has had better numbers than the country overall, but things here are also bleak. We have blown through our own spring peak of 164 diagnoses in a day to over 450 on Nov. 13. Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are all on the rise with no sign of slowing. The outlook is bad and getting worse.

In the past eight months, we have all sacrificed. I understand the desire to slip back into the comfort and joys of normalcy, especially during the holidays. However, the danger hasnโ€™t abated. One careless breath has the potential to end not just the routines of our old lives, but our lives entirely.

Because of my illness, I have been taking extra precautions from the start. I have already cut out all optional in-person interactions from my life. However, I canโ€™t avoid the grocery store and I will die if I donโ€™t go to the pharmacy for my insulin. I was forced to go to the ER twice already during lockdown: What happens if they run out of beds?

Individual choices can go only so far. To slow the spread, to prevent our hospitals from being overrun, to save lives, the state government must take action. Shut New Hampshire down:

โ– Mandate masks in public.

โ– Temporarily close gyms, movie theaters, and other indoor recreational facilities.

โ– Limit restaurants and bars to take-out only.

โ– Require all businesses that can work remotely to do so.

โ– Cap gatherings at 10 people maximum.

โ– Limit essential retail and grocery stores to 75% capacity.

I know these actions are hard for local economies, but without them people will die. The state has a responsibility to keep its citizens safe. It is failing. Without enforceable guidelines, there is no choice between living free or dying: each unmasked person chooses death for those around them.

I am pleading with the governor and the state Legislature to use the power with which we have entrusted them. Do the right thing. Your inaction is killing the most vulnerable people in New Hampshire. I know it is uncomfortable to dwell on this fact, but some of us donโ€™t have the privilege to ever forget it.

(Benjamin Savard of Concord is a graduate student at UNH.)