You can’t escape the pandemic on a Hawaii vacation.
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You can’t escape the pandemic on a Hawaii vacation.
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Comments are closed.
Julie, wearing a masks has nothing to do with your constitutional rights. “Constitutional rights and the ideals of limited government do not allow citizens to shirk their social obligation to their fellow Americans or to society as a whole…. After all, we do not have a constitutional right to infect others.”
This goes for the mainland, too: Just wear the damn masks. I am coming back to Kauai to my little condo on Monday. I will wear my mask, social distance and wash my dried out little hands as much as is necessary just to enjoy the island and see my friends again. And practice the Aloha Spirit. Mahalo, guys, for all you do for us. Wear Your Masks!
Hi Claudia.
Glad you are returning to Kauai next week. And thanks for all the comments over the past 2 1/2 years.
Aloha.
I’m planning on coming to Oahu in December. What are the rules for wearing a mask when laying out on the beach or going in the water?
Thanks for any advice.
Hi Don.
Barring any further clarification, masks required at all tie except when going in the water.
Aloha.
Thanks. Gonna make for some funny looking tan lines!🤣
Cindy W has the right idea! Post notices everywhere.
I really can’t understand how someone still questions the evidence that masks work. I’ve seen the B&W video image of sneezing with and without a mask so many times I could probably draw it in my sleep.
BTW: Doctors on Call and Minit-Medical are both doing quick testing on Maui. It’s Free for residents. Not sure of cost to travelers. It is my understanding that this satisfies the second test requirement for trans-pacific and the pre-travel-test for interisland.
Your comment Beat of Hawaii, “These rules apply to everyone. Not just visitors.” is true. But it is also true that there is selective enforcement. We all know that there is also selective enforcement in all areas of the United States for various reasons, friends, relatives, same nationality, same race etc. however, the selective enforcement of mask and social distancing laws of tourists versus locals can negatively impact the tourist cash cow from coming back to Hawaii to spend their money. More importantly, allowing locals to disobey thiese laws could increase the spread of the disease which has a negative health impact for everyone; locals as well as tourists.
Julie, The president Covid task force say wear a mask, where are you getting your facts, not from the government medical experts. Get over your rights being taken away.
Sad that Americans aren’t pulling together in this time of crisis. Divide and conquer. Remember free speech? At least allow people the right to their opinion with kindness. Any announcements on allowing Japanese tourists to visit – with testing at their airports? Thanks for trying to make sense of this all! Mahalo.
Hi Nancy.
Yes, we mentioned it yesterday. Travel from Japan with pre-testing and no quarantine starts in about a week. It isn’t reciprocal yet, but that is probably coming soon too.
Aloha.
I have been wearing a mask since mid-March as mandated in my County of MS and if not mandated I wear a mask just common sense. I will be on the beach of Makaha with a mask if the HI Government allows April 2021. I also hope the ANZAC Celebration is not cancelled for 2021. Listen folks, for now this is our new normal. No amount of grumbling (as we say in the South) will change our current issues in our great Nation. My reservations have been scheduled since June 4. Some of us need HI, for what I call the best prescription, and they need us. All positive thoughts from Mississippi!
Hi Pamela.
Good to hear from you. Thanks for all your comments.
There’s a reason why San Francisco, the 2nd densest city in America, is doing so well with regards to the pandemic. They are listening to the Scientists, social distancing and wearing masks.
We share our aloha with Hawaii by keeping the Kamaʻāina safe.
I will say I am very sad to cancel our week trip to Hawaii in November at a lovely North Shore house with our 4 teens. I was having so much anxiety about everything going on with the big Q and testing. I felt a Huge sense of relief after cancelling. Ignorance is bliss yet unfortunately the ignorant are all quarantining at this time on their vacation.
We are in a pandemic please wear a mask to protect yourself and those around you. It’s a decent thing to do, it’s the law and it works.
you are killing your business owners, Extreme mask orders will keep people away. No People, no economy, no money!
It’s just common sense to err on the side of being as safe as you can be — wear a mask whenever and wherever you’re going to be within 6 to 9 feet of others. I like the idea of trying to be as humorous as possible about the whole thing and find a few masks that make others chuckle. Masks of a single color, especially black, tend to be intimidating and scare people — just like what criminals do and those who dress up for Halloween! Instead, spread Aloha to everyone. We really can have some fun with this thing while keeping everyone as safe as possible. And, surprise, surprise, if we all do this, we just might find that life improves much faster and the whole virus thing rapidly becomes a distant memory. Remember, every time you so much as exhale with even a hint of a cough, your body is trying to get rid of something it knows is bad for it. A mask goes a long way to protecting you from catching something nasty from someone near you, as well as preventing you from spreading something unnatural to others. It’s a two-way street folks — respect that and life will be much more enjoyable and rewarding for everyone. ALOHA!
Remember, when you wear a mask it prevents your body from exhaling the toxins as your lungs are designed to do. The cdc is being told what to say by politicians, try going to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy sit, they aren’t told what to say by politicians, and have links to around 50 mask studies that prove you can’t catch fleas with a chain link fence.
Much of this is quoted from current scientific knowledge. Science answers why wear a mask, it prevents the travel of Droplets. Masks are a droplet quarantine. Masks prevent Droplets from travel. COVID-19 does not care about anyone’s constitutional rights and will sicken or kill non-discriminatingly between the wealthy and the poor. Wearing a mask is easy and sensible. Droplets are the main way of contagion spreading. Droplets can travel much farther then 6 feet. Smaller droplets and particles (formed when small droplets dry very quickly in the airstream) can remain suspended for many minutes to hours and travel far from the source on air currents. Droplets can also land on surfaces and objects and be transferred by touch. A person may get COVID-19 by touching the surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their face. Coronaviruses on surfaces and objects will naturally die but within hours to days. Three hours on natural surfaces and plastic and up to three days on stainless steel surfaces. Elevators walls, hand rails, a counter you touch, a chair, even a rock or tree truck. Social distancing helps, but your not being around other people or alone does not mean you can not spread the virus if you are asymptomatic or catch it if your separated and not wearing a mask. You can give or receive an unpleasant droplet gift for another a distance away or from on a surface. Plain science.
When I visit Hawaii, I will mask up when I am around purple, make all attempts to maintain physical distance. This means if I am jogging, hiking hills, on the beach, no mask my face until I get anywhere near another person. All it takes is being aware of my surroundings, and having my mask hanging from one ear or on my hand ready to mask up. I have been safely practicing this since March and am very fast and good at this.
I live in Japan and will soon be visiting Hawaii on a regular basis for work. Japanese people consistently wearing masks allowed the economy to continue functioning during the pandemic. As an aside, you can wear these little plastic masks that let you breathe freely while exercising. In Asia, people wear masks as a consideration to the health of others. Where is the line between “freedom” and selfishness?
Ray, apparently here in the US, people care more about personal freedoms than they care about wearing a mask to 1) protect others who might be vulnerable, 2) try to salvage our national economy and get people back to work and 3) prevent the US from looking like a laughing stock across the globe. I applaud Japan’s success. Well done.
I really don’t see the problem with all of this. I am so grateful that the islands have reopened to us coming from the mainland. I live in California and I wear my mask everywhere I go and carry sanitizer in my pocket. I really don’t feel it’s much of an inconvenience to me. I am coming to Maui in November and have already secured my families Aloha masks. Wake up people we don’t visit these islands so we can breathe without a mask, we visit these islands for the beauty of it all. So if you wear a mask correctly you will still be able to enjoy all the beauty you can see with your eyes.
Coincidentally on October 27,1918 a citizen was actually shot by a health officer for not wearing a mask during the Spanish Flu. You can google the story, hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself. Seriously though, a little common sense is needed. Why is it ok to remove a mask and eat in a crowded restaurant but not ok on an empty beach? Why would anyone risk shopping at indoor crowded Walmart, Costco, and Home Depot, even with a mask? Why fly in a crowded airplane? The answer is people want to live their lives and they decide what risks they are willing to take.
All good points, and I agree as long as these “risks” don’t endanger other people.
I’ll wear a mask. I want to go to my condo in Kauai which has been vacant since March. Getting ready to do the Covid test first of next week. I understand that there is some conflicting opinions on masks. If it’s something that you don’t want to do on vacation I understand and perhaps waiting is best for those people.
Hi Bert.
Welcome back to Kauai in advance.
Aloha.
I’m reading some of these comments n wonder are some of these people for real. The mast mandate is to protect all from the spread of thi virus n not a fashion statement so if u can’t obey stay home.what are they idiots. These are probably the same ones that don’t have there kids vaccinated for child born illnesses . I for one don’t want to catch it so u do the mask n social distancing to protect yourself n others around if u can’t do that than u have a problem
I feel like the people who complain about masking think the government is doing it to prevent visitors from coming and forget that Hawaii has very limited medical resources (ICU beds, medical personnel). Keeping residents safe should always be a top priority.
This is a win win. Tourists that don’t want to mask should really not come to Hawaii anyway. They are a bigger risk of spreading
Covid than more reasonable visitors.
I was in Kauai last week. Wearing a mask was a very small price to pay for being there. Everyone I’ve talked to asks if the residents were nice. YES as nice as always. But maybe that’s because I was wearing a mask and being respectful??
Thanks
Hi Macie.
Good points. We are seeing more and more visitors and it doesn’t appear they are having any problems in their interactions on-island. Businesses who see visitors must be relieved to have the chance to resume work and hopefully not close down permanently.
Aloha.
Please, for everyone’s safety, just wear a mask when you are not at home with your loved ones. This is not difficult. It may be inconvenient, but let’s just do it!
Mask or no mask; you either agree or disagree. There seems to be no middle ground. There are experts on each side of the argument. Each to their own. My aggravation is the lack of guidance provided by the gov.sauteed with the lack of the ability to act in a prudent and timely manner. What lack of leadership.
I have decided to cancel my 2 week vacation over Thanksgiving and don’t know if I will go back to what may be a third world country.
I have a question about those of us who have asthma or people with COPD or other respiratory issues. Wearing a mask in hot and humid conditions can be dangerous for those people, and while they may be able to handle wearing inside stores or places of business, asking them to wear them 100% of the time even when outside and not in a social setting is not only unreasonable, but it could potentially be deadly. So my question is….are there exceptions for people with these kind of issues and what sort of documentation do you need to provide to be sure you don’t end up with a $5000 fine or a stint in jail?
Julie — Respect Hawaii’s mask mandate or stay home. People with your attitude are not welcome.
Do you speak for everyone? It’s just a different opinion, but you guys are making it political. I have a felling of the mainland was treating Hawaiians the same way this policy would be very unpopular. I’m happy to wear a mask, but I don’t need people looking over my shoulder or threatening me with a year in jail if I take it off for a minute to catch my breath, or if the beach is spacious and no one is within 6 feet. It’s the attitude that is turning a lot of us off, it’s unwelcoming and rude!
The police are ticketing people who are blatantly defiant, not people who need a breath of fresh air for a minute or are properly distanced on the beach. And most all people here in Hawaii don’t want people who know the rules but purposefully disrespect the rules. I don’t care where you live in the world—, no one wants visitors like that visiting. Tourists should always be respectful of the place and the people’s wishes of whom they are visiting.
I think people should just be considerate of others period, but telling people they are t welcome seems to be the opposite. If you do t agree with us do t visit? I seriously doubt everyone on the islands agrees with you. Should I say the same to you, if you don’t like my opinion, don’t visit my state? Seems childish to me, everyone just needs to chill out a bit and stop overreacting with fear and emotion. It’s just deciding everyone and will end up hurting local Hawaiians the most when tourists remember the treatment.
The bottom line to tourists is that we have to be here. This is where we live and work. This is where our families are.
You don’t have to be here during the pandemic. I am a nurse and our medical resources are limited especially on Maui. One hospital. Either have respect for our residents and follow the mandate or vacation somewhere else.
Exactly, my wife is an MD, so I get where you’re coming from, but don’t overreact and be so unwelcoming to your fellow countrymen. I think what we are all getting mad at is the attitude, if you were going to be treated like this coming to the mainland, maybe you would see it differently. The policing is what is making me stay away, that and the possible testing getting delayed and spending over 10k to get stuck in a hotel room with my family for a week. I’m totally willing fg to wear a mask when I’m within 6 feet of people inside and in busy areas outside, but I don’t need the gestapo watching my every move just waiting for me to accidentally take my mask off to catch my breath (I have asthma, so once in a while I have to lower my mask to catch my breath) and give me a huge fine or a year in jail. I think you are all being governed by fear rather than compassion. We don’t know each persons life or circumstances, but everyone is so quick to police people.
As a local, I can tell you that we are not being governed by fear. We hope that visitors to our state respect the difference in culture and the way we practice our kuleana to keep our population safe. Our police are not using gestapo tactics and if you refer to them in that tone, remember you are talking about our brothers,’our sisters, our fathers, our friends. The police are not just waiting around for someone to remove their mask for a minute, so they can pounce on them and give them a ticket, but rather are ticketing people who are defiant rule breakers.
From some of the stories I’ve read, visitors have mentioned feeling like they are continually being watched and it’s making their trip feel less like a vacation and more like someone who is guilty before being proven so. I do have respect for the culture, but it seems like the only respect we get back as fellow Americans is if we tow the line with your thinking. My state has been invaded by Californians, but I still don’t get to tell them what they can or can’t do where I live. It’s just courtesy that goes both ways. As I have said before, I wear masks, occasionally I need to catch my breath, if I’m out in the sun or doing something active, I likely wouldn’t be able to wear one and keep my oxygen saturation at a healthy level. People forcing me to comply with the threat of a large fine or possible jail time doesn’t seem respectful of my rights. Hence the gestapo comments, the police are doing their job, I don’t fault them, but the people making the laws needs to take a rational step back and think about what they are doing. How has SD managed to have such low numbers without a mask mandate and all the rules that have been exposed elsewhere? Jumping at the bit to attack people because we aren’t happy spending precious time and money traveling to a place we feel unwelcome doesn’t solve or help the situation.
Thanks for all the updates, BOH! If only the government in Hawaii could have communicated the mask rules better. It should have been the priority.
We were supposed to fly to Maui tomorrow, canceled our trip and our cute little condo sits empty. After reading some of these comments. It reiterates that we made a wise decision to stay home. We can control our environment a little bit better. This virus is nothing to play around with.
Please stay safe. Mahalo.
Hi Lani.
Sorry, it didn’t work out for you to come back to Maui. Hopefully, that will change soon. Thank you.
Aloha.
Direct from CDC website on Mask front page “Your mask MAY protect them. Their mask MAY protect you” …. if you do the research you will
Find opposing expert opinions that a mask does not protect you from a virus; it’s a false sense of security that is why the virus spreads in crazy mask mandate cities/towns/states/countries. A virus is sooooo small- it is like a mosquito going through a chain link fence. Washing hands/social distancing MAY prevent the common cold but we cannot prevent it altogether – and yeah like Covid, the common cold is a highly contagious virus.
I read the same thing and tried to post a link but I guess it wasn’t approved or didn’t show up correctly.
Every state has their right to do what they think is best for their communities. Tourists like me have no right to complain about it. If you don’t want to follow the rules, go somewhere else. Hawaii is not losing out on tourists with that type of thinking.
Who is going to keep things open and pay all the salaries from missed tourism? Stop trying to divide, the is he USA, we are allowed to travel between states as we feel free to, and we have just as much of a right to disagree with laws as anyone else. There are plenty of out of state people to have issues with laws in my state, and they boycott travel to make a point. The NCAA, films, etc do the same thing. It’s nothing new, make people feel unwelcome and you end up hurting the locals more than the people in charge who actually made the decisions.
Hi Guys-
Lest my comments be misconstrued, I want to make it clear that I am not an “anti-masker.” They are mandated where I live and I gladly wear a mask in public indoor spaces at all times and outside where I can’t maintain 6′. My comments were only on my reasons for why I visit your island and love it so much.
I also only turn to you for the real story. I really hope by April we can all enjoy the islands as they we re intended!
thanks
Hi Jon.
Thesis for that and your many comments.
Aloha.
So I am waiting to see just how stringent the mask requirements are in HI before I book any travel. If it is like it is here in CA where you mask up whenever you go in a store or when you are inside any public building but you take your mask off once you leave the store and you don’t have to wear your mask around family member units or when you are outside and are 6′ away from other people, then I am all in to book travel. However, it doesn’t look like that is where things are going. If I am forced to wear a mask from the moment that I step out of my unit till the time I come back regardless of where I am going or what I am doing, I will not be travelling to HI and spending my $$$ anytime soon….
Aloha,
If folks are so upset about wearing a mask (which is the only sensible thing to do no matter where you are these days – this is a pandemic!), how about a trikini or trunks and matching mask??
Stay safe.
Mahalo nui,
Chris
I live on BI and totally understand the logic and reasoning for mask wearing; However, I am with those that do not believe it is necessary to wear outside when no one is around me!! I do NOT wear when walking in parking lots (or anywhere there is no one around me) and only mask-up when walking into store and unmask as soon as back outside!! I cannot breathe with masks, and I have tried different ones w/no success. So I will continue to follow my “protocol.”
Ditto Susie !!
I just need to say you guys are the only place I rely on for real information about how it’s really going there. Mahalo for being so diligent with all this covid stuff. It is great to make others aware to wear their masks everywhere, it does make a difference 🙂 Everyone stay safe! Aloha
Hi Dominica.
Thanks for the nice words and your first comment. Much appreciated.
Aloha.
Interesting. Why is it that many people that have taken all the precautions including wearing a mask still get the virus. There is no empirical data proving that masks stem the increase of Covid while practicing social distancing. If so, show me the empirical data, show me the proof, show me the study. There isn’t any! Because, this is nothing more than symbolism over substance. Optics vs. reality. Even Fauci said that if you’re outside and social distancing there’s absolutely no reason to be wearing a mask. Whenever I’ve been to the beach I’m well over 6 feet away from people, experiencing the salt air and the sun etc. you are not going to get the virus at the beach or anywhere outside when you’re at least 6 feet apart. It is simply laughable to watch people that are well over that distance wearing masks!? So much more context I could add to this but as they say, ignorance is bliss.
Aloha,
Thank you for all your hard work keeping everyone up to date.
Here’s some food for thought. Rich people are just getting richer in this pandemic.
(link removed)
If you have to sell your home/land in Hawaii because you can’t afford it anymore and you’re someone who won’t wear a mask (looking at YOU, Julie) then all your belly-aching about your Constitutional rights won’t mean diddly squat when Zuckerberg or Bezos or Ellison or the handful of others buy up everything. You ain’t never, ever getting it back.
Please keep bitching about your right to get sick (and kill others) while the pandemic creates trillionaires and we are all too poor, sick, tired and homeless to do anything about it but wait to die. You are fighting the wrong battle if you think that mask wearers are the bad guys.
Get smart and stay safe.
Hi Liz.
Thanks for your first comment; we appreciate you being part of the community.
Aloha.
I agree with you 100% Liz M! Mahalo
A bit harsh in I’m opinion, as I’ve said before happy to wear a mask inside if close to others, but outside 6feet away, no thanks. It’s the unwelcoming attitude and threat of fines/jail that are turning the tourists off. I don’t feel like paying thousands to feel like I’m being watched 💯 of the time by security, police, or sjw’s who think they can do whatever they want to others. And I definitely agree that the rich are only getting richer off this, but I also think your politicians are some of those rich people and they are taking advantage of you all through fear and using that to take more control. It won’t be people with second homes losing their places, it will be the locals that are out of work because the hotels closed down, restaurants went out of business, and everything related to tourism gets hurt. It’s a self inflicted wound all over how to police/recommend people follow rules. Just try being a bit more like an adult rather than a school yard bully, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. All the same, I wish you all the best, love the beauty and culture, but will be traveling elsewhere with my family in the future now that I see how unwelcoming you all are.
Thank you, Liz. It’s the Julies of this country, digging their heels in, that have prevented us from getting this virus under control. Nobody enjoys wearing a mask, I hate it, but I do it because I have a child with asthma, and a shred of common decency for other people. I also want to protect myself from the growing list of previously unknown side effects of this virus!
Wearing a mask is a small price to pay to protect others, and still be in paradise. If people don’t want to do that, they need to stay home and wait until this is over.
We won’t be visiting Hawaii in the near future if ever, the culture and beauty are amazing, but supporting a bunch of unwelcoming bullies in control is not something I will be putting my money towards. Besides, the Polynesian culture and island beauty can be found outside Hawaii. I feel for those people who are trapped and being bullied on the island though.
I feel safer living here where we have stricter rules than on the mainland. As soon as we locked when our numbers increased shockingly fast and high, our numbers started dropping. I would not say we feel trapped but rather we we feel protected.
Glad you look at it that way, I know I wouldn’t. I have no issue wearing a mask, I just don’t like being threatened with jail or harassed on vacation.
This whole mask thing is totally ridiculous . It is totally over blown. A complete joke and I feel for all the businesses that will never come back. I’m sure if you ask them. Would you rather get some flu symptoms or lose your business they would take getting COVID any day. It is truly sad and honestly. I say Hawaii – good luck with your economy. You can all sit home by yourselves with a mask on and not get it and watch the entire economy tank.
Such a joke. Plus the rules make no sense. Wear the mask in a restaurant but take off while eating. The whole point of the mask is ruined. You can exercise on the beach but not sit on the beach. None of this is common sense at all and a total joke and why we moved off island.
The local businesses that are not coming back are not coming back because of a mask mandate, but because of the Covid spread. Businesses that have come back are embracing the use of masks and social distancing. And as a resident/business owner, no, we would never take Covid over being safe and providing a safe place for others. This is our Kuleana as residents and this is how you truly live aloha.
I hope you still have a business after you tank your tourism industry because of over policing and unwelcoming attitude towards visitors. What percentage of the economy on the islands involves tourism?
Too much of our economy relies on tourism. It’s not how it should be and most residents hope we can slowly move away from tourism. The pandemic has been a real eye opener. No economy should carry all their eggs in one basket. It might have been a hard lesson to learn, but a lesson learned none-the-less.
I totally agree, which is why I’m trying to convince locals to talk to those in charge and change the way this is being approached. Instead of Threatening tourists with jail and fines, come up with an idea to get people to comply without the threat. Make it fun, give masks with Hawaiian pattern on them at the airport with a small flyer explaining what the local rules are. It’s much more welcoming than just reading that Hawaii will arrest you if caught without a mask. As far as the beach and open air use is concerned, I don’t think people should be forced to wear them if over 6ft apart. The Hawaiian economy is at risk due to what basically comes down to bad PR by those in charge. The economy definitely needs to diversify to protect locals in the long run. But for the time being, I hope the local tourism board or politicians can take a more lighthearted approach to getting people to comply without the threat of jail or fines.
I was shocked by your insensitivity and dismissal of what cdc advises until I read your last sentence. Thank you so much for leaving our islands. Good luck swimming in the mainlands viral soup.
BOH Thank you for keeping me informed. I had planed a family vacation last April for 8 of us. Obviously never happened. I get emails from airlines begging me to purchase tickets and schedule travel. I applaud their marketing persistence. But until there is a vaccine and all the hotels and restaruants and shops are open and I can stay at the Royal Hawaiian and enjoy their traditional MaiTai at the MaiTai bar, why would I ever consider a vacation in the islands where we cannot enjoy hawaii as we normally do. Vaccine please!
Hi Geoff.
We hope you can return again soon! Thanks.
Aloha.
Exactly where we were going with our four kids in March. We did the same thing, I’m also not interested in getting stuck in a hotel room or followed around by security or police with the threat of heavy fines or a year in jail. I’m thinking it may be time to try Puerto Rico this year instead. At least there we can sit on the beach without a mask. Kind of feeling like Hawaii doesn’t want our business these days anyway. I hope things don’t get destroyed by this, but I can’t help but think these scare tactics and East German like enforcement will result in more travelers to the islands.
While I am ok wearing a mask in large social gatherings I am more worried that I have taken not one but two tests to be set free from the KOA. Can I be assured that anyone I encounter on the island has been tested twice in three days time? Nope! I am arriving tomorrow and will be respectful but get a clue those coming on the island are far less a danger than you think.
I can’t say that…as Lanai went from zero cases to 100 in a week? What changed…I’ll bet it had something to do with all the supposedly virus free people coming to the islands…except they are not virus free…they have found cases in the arrival testing and based on the pitiful numbers willing to be re-tested (ok…I wouldn’t want to be told I have to quarantine my entire one or two week vacation)but if we had tested 5% (seriously doubtful) we should have had at minimum 100 positive arrivals in a week. How many different planes they arrived on, and how much they spread it on the way (so others infected by them could begin spreading in 3-7 days) but the idea that tourists have more to fear from the locals is absolutely a fallacy and tourists should wear masks…or be fined or jailed if they repeat. Nothing like a night in the slammer to make one realize just how little your belief that you have some sort of “rights” matter? That “right” doesn’t exist…except inside your own home…otherwise we wouldn’t be putting on seat belts when we drive, wearing motorcycle helmets nearly everywhere (except Utard), paying taxes, or all the other things the gov’t absolutely make us do.
I think we should implement the same restrictions for the mainland from Hawaii, after all, spreading is spreading right? In fact my state has lower numbers than four of the bordering states, maybe we should lock the state border until people follow the same rules. Just think about that for a minute and let me know how much that sounds like a terrible idea. This is just going to make people start hating each other, by state, or city, or whatever. Hawaii is part of the United States, and unless you want to face the same restrictions, then stop bullying visitors.
My thoughts exactly! If the tests are to be believed, essentially 99.9% of arriving visitors are Covid-free. Then where are the cases coming from? My money is on the locals who are not tested and who want to blame everything on the arriving tourists.
Could you imagine if we made everyone traveling from Hawaii to the mainland do the exact same thing??? The outrage and name calling would be all over the place, and yet the local Hawaiian government and some bullies on this board can’t seem to see why we are upset and turned off from them.
I think the reactions you are receiving on this is symbolic of how our government has literally knee-jerked the whole messaging on masks. One thing that I have noted since day one of this saga is that the government leaders throughout the entire world have literally done what they did without even thinking about how to get people to eagerly comply. Yes, we can have the police go around and put everyone who is not wearing a mask into the pokey, or fine them obscene amounts of dollars and throw them into a court to plead their case. But that just causes problems in itself, something that this should not be if the message right.
Where are the human behaviorists who are experts in how to deal with people, in all of these enforcement discussions? Where are the psychiatrists who already are sounding loud alarms on mental health issues, on how to make enforcement more genteel for people to comply?
I think that the government’s “knee on the neck” attitude toward all this is just going to cause more people to either ignore the mandate or, in some cases, openly protest against it. Because again, people need to feel that they have a say in this, and right now they don’t
Exactly, best reply I’ve read so far. It’s the way they are threatening, and reacting in fear with a bullying mentality that makes me think I won’t ever return to Hawaii. Trips cost lots of money, time is precious, why would I want to risk two valuable things on a place that doesn’t want me there and threatens me if I don’t do exactly what they want when the want it. I wear masks, I have no issue with that when around people, but the beach or when people are well over 6 ft away. Then threat of big fines and possibly a year in jail??? Not to mention the bullying and unwelcoming attitude from the locals who it sounds like will also be policing us. There are other beautiful tropical places, and even places that have Polynesian culture that are more welcoming at this point in time. I just can’t help but wonder how this would be perceived if it was the other way around. It’s just rude to treat people like Hawaii is treating people they rely on for income. This has been the wrong approach, and the damage is already done for many of us, but as it gets worse or word gets out of horror stories from travel to Hawaii, the economy will only suffer more and more u til people wake up and get politicians that think things over rather than govern by fear and threats. Unfortunately, the damage may already be done, it’s going to get ugly once things start closing for good and the unemployment rate sky rockets on the islands.