Andrew Klingensmith

Fort Collins, Colo.

To the Editor:

Dear President Trump:

The emergence of the coronavirus has created an unprecedented opportunity for you to lead in a constructive way. As a New Yorker who followed your career, I was aware for decades that you abhorred the ritual of handshaking. It appears that you reluctantly took it up during your first campaign and in your role as president. This potential pandemic is an opportunity to convert the nation, and perhaps the world, to your way of thinking regarding this unsanitary ritual.

You can do so much good to help stop the spread of coronavirus by persuading people to adopt the fist bump or elbow bump, or, as some other cultures do, bowing. Your leadership on this issue can save many lives around the world.

Larry Lynn

Grand View-on-Hudson, N.Y.

To the Editor:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says to stay home when you’re sick and prepare for “significant disruption” to our lives with the likely spread of coronavirus in the United States. Yet for nearly seven in 10 workers who earn low wages — and more than three in 10 over all — doing just that can cost you your pay, and maybe your job. These are the workers who serve our food, drive our kids’ school buses, care for our elderly loved ones.

It shouldn’t take a pandemic to remind us that we all have a stake in a universal standard of paid sick days and paid family and medical leave.

Ellen Bravo

Milwaukee

The writer is strategic adviser for Family Values @ Work.

To the Editor:

President Trump’s response to the coronavirus virus is typical of him — simply say a bunch of fluffy things. He is quoted as saying: “But we are very, very ready for this, for anything” and “We really have done a very good job.” But he never backs up these statements with details.

What has he actually done to protect us? U.S. citizens deserve that information. Perhaps Mr. Trump simply doesn’t know or doesn’t really care.

Brant Thomas

Cold Spring, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Re “City in South Korea Tries Openness, With Word of Caution About Crisis” (news article, Feb. 26):

I live in Daegu, Samsung’s birthplace and the epicenter of Covid-19 in South Korea. Yes, the situation is grave; the number of cases here has topped 1,000. Since the unexpected outbreak in January, we have taken decisive pre-emptive measures while doctors and nurses do their job. We avoid one another. A controversy on whether to ban travelers from China aside, the government has responded rather systematically and decisively.