Rant: Time to be adults again with COVID-19. Plus today's headlines.

Hometown Headlines Radio Edition: Local news without the static.

Today’s top headlines:

• Rome Police: Teen, 16, facing murder charge, to be tried as adult in shooting death of RHS junior Sincere Javier Estrada-Lopez on June 1.
• 40th Bartow resident dies from COVID-19; 76th victim from Northwest Georgia; 2,745 statewide. 10 in Rome hospitals. Positive tests: Third day of 1,700-plus new cases.
• Politics: As Aug. 11 runoff ticks closer, some answers to your questions about who can and can’t vote in the sheriff’s, U.S. House races.
• Ware Mechanical Weather Center: Mid to upper 80s through Sunday with rain chance varying from 20% to 40%; storms possible each afternoon/evening.
• Truett’s Chick-Fil-A Sports Report: Georgia Highlands’ alum Bryson Horne signs with Atlanta Braves.

Advertising:

• Hardy Realty’s open house gallery for Sunday: Six homes in Rome, Cedar Bluff, ranging in price from $57,000 to $530,000.

Rant of the Day: Time to be adults again with COVID-19.

Easily half if not more of us checked out of the coronavirus pandemic almost two months ago. We've heard all the reasons why:

• I can't handle all the bad news.
• This is just the Fake News Media spreading fear to sell newspapers (even though we're online?)
• We've got to move on and reopen the economy.
• This is no big deal; it is just a major case of the flu.

We understand; we're tired of it, too. It adds a few extra hours to our work day. We don't leave home these days without a wallet, car keys, cell phone -- and mask. There are extra masks in the car as well. If we dine out, it is cafe-style only. Church is drive-in or tune-in (Facebook Live).

By our estimate, under 30 percent of us are using masks in public -- if that many. Even the more vulnerable older population is easing up on recommended use. We doubt strict hygiene practices are still being observed. Even the grocery shelves have disinfectant again -- and toilet paper. The meat cases are full, the peanut butter section is packed and except for those directional signs on some store floors, it is mostly business as usual from late February 2020.

Except for one thing: The pandemic never left and, instead, is spreading faster than before.

We've now seen three consecutive days of 1,700-plus new coronavirus cases in Georgia. Before this week, the record was 857 cases in a single day, set on April 13.

Exactly what are we all going to do about it?