For starters, when do you wear a mask in Hawaii? Read further for details.
182 thoughts on “Lack of Visitor Information Already Resulted in 5,000 Police Warnings/Citations”
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Home » Blog » Hawaii Travel Tips » Lack of Visitor Information Already Resulted in 5,000 Police Warnings/Citations
We have been on Kauai since 10/16. We own a condo at Whalers Cove in Poipu. The Kukuiula Shopping center is about 50% open right now and we have already enjoyed wonderful and welcoming meal with mai tai’s at Merrimans. Spectacular day yesterday driving all the way up to Haena State Beach (made parking reservations in advance). A local farmer came up to us to give us “the best bananas you’ve ever tasted”. Then we strolled on the Hanelei Pier – lots of activity and children jumping off and learning to surf. Then mai tai’s at Tahiti Nui.
I did not know a mask is mandatory at all times in the state of Hawaii. It was not communicated to me even once with that level of certainty. It is such a disappointing experience when visitors come trying to support the local Hawaiian businesses and the government communication is so very poor and disjointed. Different islands have different rules? Really ? Stronger together. What part of that is not understood? Hawai’i is an embarrassment and an example of an epic failure on how to effectively manage a crisis like Covid.
Please note that these CoVid tests are only 70% accurate. It is foolish to think that just because an entire airplane has negative tests that everyone is CoVid free. 30% of the tests are inaccurate and what exposure have all of those passengers had since taking their tests? CoVid free isn’t possible, isn’t going to happen. Our economy is crashed and now we will see what happens to the CoVid numbers. Should have let nature do her thing from the very beginning- with runaway fear all we have done is prolong the inevitable, and severely crashed Hawaii.
Please stop spreading misinformation. The PCR (NAAT) test is 99% accurate for positive people.
We have a trip in November to Big island. And we know to wear a mask. We wear one here in Washington. It will take some getting used for people while traveling. Mask up so we can through this. We will do our part.
Let me know when you aren’t so paranoid about viruses and I’ll be happy to come back and spend my hard earned money.
I am not spending my good money to walk around like there’s some sort of real pandemic….what about those of us that are medically exempt from masking? this is ridiculous and needs to be gone by the summer
Does being medically exempt from wearing a mask mean you cannot get or spread covid?
In the early 80’s I worked on an education campaign warning about the risks of fruit and vegetable infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly. We produced a short video on the proper handling and transport of approved produce. That video was mandated that all airlines run the video as part of their arrival process. Same would be logical for CV-19.
Though I appreciate the fact that most visitors return our aloha by masking and social distancing, there is considerable push back from the current Administration and supporters who refuse the basic safety guidelines. Just yesterday, the Administration’s top medical advisor, Dr. Atlas, tweeted that masks don’t work and that the only solution is the discredited concept of “herd immunity”. With those conflicting messages, I wonder if visitors subscribing to these two dangerous concepts will simply ignore.
That’s the problem. The average mask-wearing rate in the US is around 50%. So that means that roughly 1/2 of the visitors coming to Hawaii now simply don’t have a history of mask-wearing. This is, as you point out, supported by the anti-science administration we currently have and is the main reason that we are so far behind the rest of the world in terms of managing this pandemic. It’s also the reason that we continue to have to lock down so much. If we had a mask-wearing rate of 90+% we could get this pandemic under control pretty quickly, and open up the economy in Hawaii, and the rest of the country.
Absolutely correct. A tourist called me stupid while I was out for my morning walk. I’m 61 and felt saddened and attacked for following science.
If you truly “follow science” you would be aware that “the science” has changed numerous times since February regarding COVID, and that, after decades of study, masks had been well-established to be ineffective against coronavirus. Sadly, the narrative is now changing on that, and certain studies are being crafted to say that masks can provide SOME protection (like keeping people from coughing and spitting into our mouths and eyes, evidently). I hope that you are following best-practices from Fauci: wear that snorkel mask or swim goggles when out and about to be extra safe!
But, if you truly followed the science, you’d see that the US fatality rate for COVID-19 has been revised down from a criminally inaccurate reported high of 7.00% (yes, go look it up!) to a new CDC number of 0.65%, or if you prefer the WHO, their latest estimate is that 10% of the world population has had it, and using the total death count, you’ve got a global fatality rate of 0.14%. Mask up, o, followers of science: according to the WHO, COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu!
The real science has show it all along: the old are at massively greater risk than the young (as is the case for flu-related deaths). So the impetus is on the old to protect themselves. Don’t take the risk, and let us get on with achieving herd immunity for you, while keeping the economy running, toilet paper on the shelves, and food in the fridge. That is what a non-partisan with no agenda other than public health would say. Fact check me! Don’t worry, I’m not traveling to HI until this madness passes, so you won’t have to worry about getting my cooties, or my money. Aloha!
Your last sentence before “Aloha!” certainly made me feel better. What you seem to ignore is a recent meta-study that looked at 172 experiments on the efficacy of mask wearing.
That meta-analysis of 172 studies looked at various interventions to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, SARS and MERS from an infected person to people close to them. The analysis, which was published in The Lancet on June 1, found that mask wearing significantly reduces the risk of viral transmission.
Apparently you listen to a radiologist that feeds Trump his daily dose. Science says that to achieve that illusive darling called “herd immunity” 60-70% of the population must be infected. Let’s see, even at your absurdly low death rate (i don’t argue that the rate has reduced because treatment modalities have improved)your strategy would produce ~16,750,000 dead Americans. You must be proud of your self-assured “solution”, as it is about 3 times worse than the German’s final solution.
What science and emerging data on long haulers and citizens of all ages that have become infected has indicated is that this virulent form of corona virus has currently unknown, but likely,health issues far into the future. If blood clots, liver damage, intestinal tract damage means that CV-19 is no worse than the flu, then put me on your scientific mother-ship and sail me to that promised land of Atlas.
Thanks James, I was aware of that Lancet paper (which counted zero epidemiologists among its authors), and it has been attacked for some of its claims regarding masks. And a meta analysis is not the same as an actual experiment and analysis. That paper was widely criticized as offering dangerous conclusions, overly simplifying the data, and more than 40 scientists have called for its retraction. Not to mention that most masks are filthy and reused, becoming counter-productive.
Nice ad hominem attack. Keep up with the “science”, that 60-70% infection for herd immunity has now been revised down to 30%, with an estimated 10% who have already had it. That’s why it should spread among the healthy like wildfire, burn itself out, then the at risk will be protected and can resume normal life. And it is how we’ve dealt with almost all viruses that do not have high fatality rates and long incubation times.
We each have our own personal risk tolerance. I find most of the panic is from reliance on old, bad information. Stay current and you’ll have reason for optimism, even if we don’t all wear masks.
Harvey Covid19 will really like you. Wow. What hatefilled diatribe. Cannot believe that is allowed here
Thank you Paul. It’s useless to debate someone who views through one lens using one eye, but for the rest of BOH readers one needs to call out those who would present themselves as knowledgeable with certainly dangerous information.
Re: The Lancet study. You Harvey H., incorrectly reported the percentage required for herd immunity. This from MD Anderson Cancer center:
We spoke with our infectious diseases and infection control specialist Roy Chemaly, M.D., for details.
What is herd immunity?
Herd immunity happens when enough people have developed immunity to a particular infectious disease that the risk of further community transmission is either eliminated or significantly reduced.
This requires a certain percentage of the population to have been exposed and infected with the disease — in this case, COVID-19 — so that they develop immunity against it in the form of antibodies. These antibodies not only protect the person who has them from re-infection for a certain period of time, they also prevent them from passing along the disease to others, because their immune systems kill whatever it is that causes it — a virus or bacteria — when they encounter it again.
What does it take to achieve herd immunity?
That varies by disease. For this particular coronavirus, doctors estimate that about 60% to 70% of the human population would need to have antibodies in order to have herd immunity as a species.
Re: Meta study vs. experiments. Of course, I realize that a meta analysis is an analysis of studies, not an experiment. It deduces relevant information from those statistical studies to look for similarities in conclusions. Meta-analysis is used all the time to verify the consistency across experiments.
Finally, it is not an ad hominen attack when the originator of false data then declares being attacked (sound familiar?). I was simply pointing out the statistical fact of 16+ million dead Americans which seems apparently acceptable to you.
Paul C: I don’t hate people, mainly misinformation. But I do see you sprinkling nuggets of love all over these comments.
James B: I see that you are ignoring that there is no consensus on what it will take for herd immunity. I can cherry-pick scientific inferences and estimates, too. Look at Europe; they’re constantly revising their numbers down, with some saying 10-20% is all that is needed in certain situations. My 30% is a fair average, and will likely be very close to the final number. Time will tell. The herd immunity estimates of 60-70% for COVID are relics from the spring when we had bad (terrible!) data.
Can you dispute that we were once told that COVID had a fatality rate of 7%, or the new 0.65% number? The trend is that all these Chicken Little numbers have been falling faster than the sky was supposed to be. A meta analysis is not a replacement for a study, and I can show you dozens of actual studies that say these masks are a mess and likely to hurt, not help, public health. You also deflected a bit there, as you never addressed the fact that that Lancet paper was widely condemned for making unsupported assumptions and dangerous statements about the efficacy of masks.
You do realize that your 16MM dead Americans is 8 times higher than the now discredited doomsday model offered by Neil Ferguson which helped kick off the panic? As far back as March 26 he was walking that insanely high number back. Your assumed death toll is a baseless extrapolation of current numbers. You should reread my initial post where I said we should isolate the vulnerable till heard immunity is achieved. I never said that 16MM dead Americans was acceptable to me, but I also don’t see an annual “mask up” routine with the flu, even when it killed 80k Americans all while we have widely adopted vaccines. Tell me, did you or your Lancet scientists advocate for these miracle masks before COVID, or is this a recent revelation for you? Was 80k dead Americans last year acceptable?
Mahalo! It’s so simple!
Don’t come or be sent back to where you came from if you don’t want to wear a mask!
No Mask = No Hawaii
LOL you have yourself a really nice day ok?
I will be honest, we cancelled our trip this summer, and after reading all of these posts, we have no desire to return any time soon. It sounds like the mask police are worse than CA! This does not sound welcoming, inviting, or relaxing…It seems logical that many tourists will choose other places that are more welcoming…..
Sadly, the Hawaiian residents will pay for decades for the fall out of this virus. The cure is far worse than the virus itself!
Masks do not cause brain/heart or lung damage. They are not worse than COVID.
For some who recover from COVID-19, symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain, confusion, headaches and even hallucinations are among the growing number of issues survivors face following the illness.
“Individuals recovering from COVID-19 may struggle with a number of respiratory, cardiac and kidney problems,” warns Laurie Jacobs, M.D., chair of Internal Medicine, Hackensack University Medical Center. “They also have an increased risk of blood clots, which can potentially lead to a stroke or heart attack.” …here is a look at some of the most common long-term effects:
Heart Trouble
A recent study from the University of Frankford in Germany showed abnormal heart findings in more than 75% of people recently recovered from COVID-19. A considerable majority of patients in the study were found to have had inflammation in the heart and muscle lining.
Inflammation in the heart can lead to long-lasting cardiac disease and failure.
“There’s a lot more that needs to be studied, but it’s important to know that there’s the possibility out there that a coronavirus infection could mean development of a serious heart condition,” says Dr. Jacobs.
Lung Problems
We know COVID-19 attacks the lungs, causing inflammation. This may leave survivors with persistent shortness of breath.
Some people who recover can experience a dry cough or pain when breathing after the illness. Those who had to be placed on a ventilator may have more severe symptoms.
Brain and Neurological Issues
Research shows COVID-19 can affect the brain & central nervous system. Some people have reported symptoms like headaches, dizziness, trouble concentrating or recalling things and even hallucinations after recovering.
Really? Do you think that this economic hardship is worse than 220K deaths? BTW, because of the current approach of pretending there isn’t a problem, we will likely lose another 200K people by the end of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that lockdowns are a long term solution either. They are a short term solution until we can get things a bit under control, then we open up slowly with significant mask-wearing, hand washing, and social distancing. the rate we open up is ENTIRELY determined by how seriously people take this pandemic and do the above-mentioned mask-wearing, etc. Unfortunately, we are in a position now where people simply won’t do those simple things (US mask-wearing rate is somewhere around 50%), and therefore we are STUCK. It’s a catch 22 where all we need to do is break the cycle, and we could open up.
You might be interested in this post from health care workers:
Volunteers Needed:
Volunteers who don’t believe in COVID-19 or that the cure is worse than the virus
Activities include transfer of patients, transfer of the dead,general cleaning of COVID ward.
P.S. It won’t be a problem that you won’t get PPE, as you don’t believe that they are necessary, and that the .
Signed: Health Care Workers
Yes, please stay home. Hawaii does not need visitors like you who don’t want to obey the local rules. Regardless of your thoughts on the pandemic, “if you don’t like the rules of the road, stay off the highway”.
Aloha Friends,
We arrived on Maui 10/17. Everyone on Maui has been kind and friendly, both visitors and local employees. We cleared the Covid checkpoint at the airport in about 50 minutes.
I have seen no signs of resentment from locals. All have been welcoming, knowing all visitors are Covid free due to testing guidelines. Mask wearing has not been a problem. Everyone we have encountered has been very courteous, mask wearing when not social distancing. I’m unclear on what all the problems I read of are all about?? They just are not present.
Kim R.
Too many unknowns for us, too risky. We canceled our February reservation at Kauai Kiahuna Plantation, so Jeff and Rob, you will have to wait until 2022 for those free drinks from us at Keoki’s.😁
Hi Rob.
Thanks for letting us know. See you then.
Aloha.
Wonder if I know who Rob L. is.. from Missouri? 🤔
Nope. I live in Colorado Springs. I actually started replying under the moniker Bob L., but changed it to Rob L. because there is another Bob L. from California who posts occasionally, quite cynical I might add, and I wanted to avoid confusion.
Oh my – well good reason to change it I guess. Thought you may be my bud who is from MO and is also a Hawaii enthusiast! 🙂