To the Editor:

Re “Those We’ve Lost: Faces From the Coronavirus Pandemic” (March 28):

Nothing written about the pandemic — not the myriad scientific analyses, not the stunning unemployment graphic on Friday’s front page, not the varied opinions of President Trump’s handling of this disaster — has affected me like this page of obituaries. Reading it was the first time I have broken down and sobbed.

Ellen Eshbach Nordby

Surprise, Ariz.

Help for Palestinian Refugees in the Pandemic

To the Editor:

Re “Unprepared for the Worst: The World’s Most Vulnerable Are in Deep Peril” (news article, March 27)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is taking steps to prepare for the spread of Covid-19 throughout Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza that could be devastating for 5.6 million Palestinian refugees. We are the only agency tasked with providing lifesaving health services to Palestinian refugees daily.

But despite our extensive experience working in times of crisis, the degree that we are watching medical systems collapse in wealthy developed countries tells me that within weeks, we could be facing disastrous situations that will leave our underfunded and strained health system at the brink of total collapse, with thousands of lives in the balance.

Many Palestinian refugees our agency serves are confined to densely populated and impoverished camps or territories where they have limited movement, and many lack the clean water necessary for sanitation, creating perfect conditions for the spread of the virus.