Scary numbers and frightening pictures highlighted the news this weekend.

Gladly there were no new police violence issues or racist attacks grabbing headlines, although both remain active issues. But the really troubling news is once again the spread of COVID-19 and people’s irresponsible actions as states try to return to what we are hoping becomes normal.

Too many people started treating the summer of 2020 as summer as usual beginning with the Memorial Day holiday. While many churches remained hiding in fear instead of in faith, many others went full-speed ahead with getting back into life as they remembered it.

What virus? What masks? What precautions?

As persons in the age 25 to 50 brackets raced back to the bars and beaches, they exhibited no concern for the virus they could engage and spread to more-susceptible people they would encounter at home, at work, at stores.

Already some states and even our neighbors to the south in Allegheny County are bringing back restrictions including shutting down bars and possibly restaurants.

The economy hasn’t had a chance to recover from the devastation we suffered from the end of March through May. And now we may be falling right into the same hole.

Does anyone not know someone who either went to a bar, a restaurant or a swimming pool last week? Were the individuals practicing any of the social-distancing suggestions?

How loose has you, your business, or the places you frequent quickly become with the safeguards that medical professionals recommended? Everywhere we went was guilty of it. We are not excluding ourselves.

Want to restart the entire debate over essential or nonessential? Want to start the daily domination of news coverage by COVID-19 all over again and the politicians can blame each other?

Perhaps there is some place to meet in the middle. It may start with patrons being more acceptable to the rules being implemented and attempting to be followed by stores, by restaurants, by bars.

You may never experience a single day of uncomfortable health because of this virus.

You may be one of those people who can still say that you haven’t known of anyone with the virus. But you can still be the one responsible for bringing it to your parents, grandparents, neighbors or customers.

Is a little bit of discomfort worth that risk? We have advocated and will continue to plead for business to be allowed to get back to business. We want restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and ballparks open as much as anyone else does. We can’t keep our doors open without their support.

But overdoing it now can have even more severe consequences down the road.

Take a step back and see what you as an individual can do to help protect others as well as yourself. Penny-wise and pound foolish grandma used to say. Don’t let selfish pleasures cause you to make foolish decisions.