My area has not been hard hit by COVID-19. The only people I know who have gotten the virus are people from other areas. Today on my podcast, I interviewed Chuck Ripka, who became well known when the New York Times and other media wrote about how he shared his faith with customers in his bank at Elk River, Minnesota. I’ve known him ever since, and when I learned that he had COVID-19 and survived, I asked if he would describe it.
You can listen to the podcast on how bad he felt, but he was never in the ICU and never on a ventilator. He has no idea how he caught it, and as far as he knows, no one caught it from him, including his wife, who was quarantined with him.
However, he said he feels the government has made too big of a deal about this. And in fact, he believes some of how the government has responded has done more harm than good.
“I think the worst thing that’s coming about is the economic part of it,” he says. “[COVID-19] is going to affect more people economically than it [will] directly.”
This doesn’t mean people shouldn’t take precautions. But Ripka says that if you observe where COVID-19 is hitting the hardest, you’ll find it’s mostly metropolitan areas. Because of this, we shouldn’t treat all regions the same when it comes to COVID-19 safety precautions. We have to find a good balance.
Had I known Chuck’s story when I was finishing my new book, God, Trump and COVID-19, I would have included it, of course. As it was, I dedicated the book to Rev. Greg Mundis, who apparently had a much more serious case but thankfully has survived. Sadly, another friend of mine, Bishop Phillip Brooks of Detroit, did not survive. He is the only person who I know personally who has died, and I dedicated the book in his memory.
My new book goes on sale on Amazon on Thursday. It can be pre-ordered there or on my own website, SteveStrangBooks.com, along with my other books about Trump. At that website, you can find how to get the book as an e-book and get a copy of Trump Aftershock free for merely paying the postage. I think you’ll enjoy the other offers you find there too.
I hope that you will want to read this short book that is really a continuation of God, Trump and the 2020 Election, because I believe that COVID-19 will certainly have an effect on the election.
I also hope you find my podcast today interesting. Chuck goes into a lot of detail that I’m not going into here. Share the podcast and this article with friends who may be interested in how his faith sustained him.
Stephen Strang 
