We stand with friends, neighbors, facing what comes next together

The COVID-19 conversation Friday turned to the fact President Trump and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.

It’s an announcement that amplifies the uncertainty we’ve all felt over the last few months.

After eight months, we’re all tired of talking about COVID, and tired of thinking about what precautions we need to take while still trying to go about our lives of family, work and school.

We want to have the October we’ve always had, of fall football with the holiday season on the horizon.

We understand the exhaustion everyone feels at this moment, and the fear of what will happen next, whether it to our health, or to our economy.

But this is a moment which requires even more patience from us, with our neighbors and our leaders, as we try to figure out the right steps in an uncharted landscape.

We ask that everyone continue to take the precautions doctors have said can best protect us — frequent handwashing, social distancing and wearing face coverings.

And we ask that everyone remember we are in this together, just as the president said early Friday morning.

No matter where you stand politically, when it comes to our communities, we stand with our friends and neighbors, together, facing what comes next.

We’ve proven that for the last eight months in the volunteer-led food pantries, and the donations of masks, and in so many other ways.

We will continue to prove that in the months that lie ahead, because that is what Southeast Missouri does.