Behavioral changes on Hawaii flights and new health department data indicate Covid in Hawaii is a resurging problem.
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Behavioral changes on Hawaii flights and new health department data indicate Covid in Hawaii is a resurging problem.
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I’ve always wondered why “masks” have this effect on everyone. As we can see from this thread, for some reason, people feel the need to tell someone else they are wrong for wearing masks. Or wrong for not wearing masks. And then it devolves into name calling and accusations or worse.
I have yet to see anyone Ask what someone’s opinion is on wearing or not wearing a mask. Instead, someone states “I like wearing a mask” or “I don’t like wearing a mask” and right away someone on the opposite side feels like they have to tell that person why they are wrong.
Let it go…
OK.. back to your regularly schedule programing.
I agree with Eric
Masks, another round of scare tactics by the helpless and politicized WHO/Media to continue making people use fear instead of reasoning…..
If wearing a mask makes you feel safe, please do. However, forcing a person who is healthy to wear one is the problem. I’m 75 and can’t get enough air wearing it.
Bacteria builds up and is unhealthy. Show me the science that it makes you safe.
I use gels and nasal sprays that inhibit the virus.
Gels and nasal sprays inhibit the virus? Mind sharing what they are as I’d like to get some of them. Rather do that than wear a mask.
Thanks!
Please, don’t spread misinformation. N95 masks provide high degree of virus protection (nothing is 100% effective, unless you avoid all human contact). Nasal sprays and gels? No benefit.
If air can get through a mask do you really believe a virus can’t? Even in an OR Drs & nurses wear masks but each OR has an air filtration system. Yes, be safe and stay home if you’re sick, but we should not be lead by fear.
I do. N95 masks trap the virus.
By the way, air is mostly nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, which are elemental molecules. Virus is significantly larger than any of those things. So it stands to reason that air can and does get through while the viruses don’t. Basic high school science class stuff.
Air easily passes through an open window. So it stands to reason that air can and does get through an open window, but the viruses don’t. Basic high school science class stuff.
Open windows? Really? Uh….no. Please try harder.
I was just using your high school science class logic: “if air can get through,then virus cannot”
Try harder
I’m pretty sure you can breathe perfectly fine if you wear a mask properly. Doctors and nurses have been doing it for years and you don’t hear them crying about it
How old are you? If the mask mandates are to turn into daily reality forever I would need to augment with oxygen. In fact, would prefer to do so right now. Masks are problematic, if I am woodworking it is time limited and by choice. Just came back from a month trip to Japan. They have never taken their masks off and it was the only negative about an otherwise wonderful experience. They wear them outdoors which I never did even at the beginning of Covid. Practically alone on the beach, why would I need one? And yes, we invested in quality Korean N95 masks for the trip and while they do conform to the face much, much better they do not make breathing any easier.
Wow – So much rancor and poor information…..
The truth is that COVID is now an endemic disease. It’s everywhere and it is Never going away. There will be new strains that appear (similar to the Flu virus) and infection rates will rise and fall as with other viral diseases. Simply put, we all need to learn to live with this for the rest of our lives.
Now, personally, I don’t spend any time worrying about endemic viral diseases. I know that there is a chance of infection and rely on my body’s immune system to deal with it along with prescribed meds as necessary.
If strapping a piece of paper across your face makes you feel better or provides some sense of security, then by all means do it. Its your right, just don’t expect me to.
Couldn’t agree more! Well said.
Wow, so many newly-minted scientists here today. It’s a wonder they have so much free time to post on a Hawaii travel site. Thanks for your input.
Finally some common sense , and factual.
Thanks for that
So, you are ok with taking prescribed meds (not that any of them will prevent Covid!) but you refuse to get vaccinated, put a mask or take a test?
Aloha Beat of Hawaii.
I’ll be the first to admit that I contracted the current Covid variant, named affectionately “The Kraken”
Whomever gifted it to me had it delivered on Christmas day.
My body is still waging war with the beast. Until now, I’ve been so sick I didn’t even have the strength to comment on anything.
Please be safe out there.
Tomorrow is never promised.
Mahalo for everything you do.
Always 🌺🌺
Hi Pam.
We wish you and complete and speedy recovery! Please stay in touch.
Aloha.
Thank you for having the courage for telling people that Covid Does exist and it’s not just a flue like some people want it to be …now you are saying that someone gave it to you on Christmas Day which probably means they didn’t wear a mask. Did you? Best wishes and I hope you will feel better soon.
My husband and I flew over here last week, masked, we did see more masks than I had anticipated, but we also saw a lot of sick people. And since we’ve been here everywhere we go we are running into sick people. I guess their attitude is, they made these plans, they’re coming no matter what. Also so many people think they just have colds and don’t even bother testing.
This is a dubious area. Yes there are selfish people who do not care about infecting others as long as they get their trip but the dubious piece is those who get infected by such people on flights may have a course of action against the airline for a breach of duty of care in not keeping visibly sick people off their flights. Proof of causation would be the key issue here but public policy and social utility could employ intentional blindness fo defeat the defense of no specific causation or intent. Airlines need to be very careful in letting sick people on their planes.
Well , what ever that means.. if mask work, then wear one,you should be protected from someone who doesn’t.
Not sure why anyone has a problem with someone wanting to take an extra level of caution on their vacation? Why do the personal choice advocates attack someone doing just that?
You are most definitely less likely to catch any virus with an N95 mask on. If your vaccinated you are safer yet. No guarantees in anything but surely if someone wants to reduce their chances of getting sick that should be there choice.
I was not able to add “thumbs up”, so I am sending my agreement to that statement in writing!
I fly to/from Hawaii every week or so and I can tell you that the amount of passengers wearing masks has indeed not increased as of late. I wish you were right but it’s just not true. I don’t know if that’s just opinion or what but it’s not factual.
my experience as well…Both hubby & I flew separately the last couple weeks and I can report at least from Cali to Maui Most people did Not have Masks on…look at the studies, they do nothing except a medically fitted N95 may do something if fitted properly and changed every few hours per my Brother in law who runs a major Cali Hospital. Covid is way too small that is why everyone will eventually get it regardless of masking or not….wear one if you want, but at what point in time will you no longer?
Worthy of note that Physicians are measuring the level of infection or reception of viral particles whereas in an airliner one is looking at the transmission interference as well. This is often overlooked by internet experts. Masking is really no more than hand washing. Some people like to wash their hands repeatedly to keep themselves healthy whereas others perhaps do it 2 or 3 times a day at most.
flying from Maui to Honolulu in 3 weeks, so let’s see …
Allow me to dispel some of the misunderstandings about coronavirus 19 transmission. For the record, I am a doctor and I’ve been wearing a mask at work since this pandemic first began in early 2019.
The coronavirus is acquired mainly through the nose and mouth – we breathe it in. Standard surgical masks, made of of paper or cloth, do Not stop the majority of virus. They Do stop small droplets of mucous (with attached virus) from sneezes and coughs. But the C19 virus is so small that it can float in the air, like dust, for hours. That’s where the N95 mask comes in. It Does stop the virus floating in air. I does this with its electrostatic properties: the fibers of the mask are electrically charged and “trap” the virus like a magnet.
Most people who suddenly stop listening to Dr’s when it comes to Covid, are the 1st ones grabbing any meds they can get their hands on. It’s pathetic.
Masks do work. N95s are better than surgical masks, which are better than cloth. But all are associated with lower rates of COVID. Perfect? No. But they are all effective.
yale.edu/largest-study-masks-and-covid-19-demonstrates-their-effectiveness-real-world
Thanks Eldo, my daughter is a Prof of Internal Medicine at a University Med Center she has been masking the same as you and insisting I mask, forever or until this gets under control, I’m immunocompromised, plus 4 MI’s and on Chemotherapy drugs for my MG. Thier Dept of Virology/Immunology took doctors white coats away from them several years ago cuz they were able to culture COVID from the coats. So all medical staff wear scrubs and double mask, plus eye cover and isolation gowns between each patient.
Wife is a sever asthmatic as well and has extreme difficulty with the standard N95’s.
So we found this company that is FDA approved made in the USA and we get a monthly shipment of these light weight masks. pure-msk.com
I thought the US government had blocked people arriving from China?
People visiting the US from China are required to show a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 2 days before their flight departs.
Could people please do a little research?? World Wide Web is there for all of us. If you think a mask is protecting you wear it. If you want to know the truth look it up. This topic is really growing old.
I thought you weren’t going to post conspiracy theories BOH?
I don’t know what type of question you are putting in to get the result You want, but my question in the World Wide Web was “does wearing a mask protect you from Covid?” and I did not see any article that said that wearing a mask was useless, harmful or whatever other theory you wish they would say….the question is why?
Right, because you should believe everything you read on the internet? How about actually getting off the computer and actually talking to people in the medical field? It’s an amazing concept, I know.
Here’s the truth: Masks work.
egc.yale.edu/largest-study-masks-and-covid-19-demonstrates-their-effectiveness-real-world
Wearing a mask other than N95 is a false sense of security, and may contribute to adding to the spread.
I didn’t know that you can detect COVID in sewer water. Can anyone explain how that works?
Mask don’t work! Look at the science.unless it is a N95 worn properly, and then not 100%
What is 100% safe? Your meds?
Nothing in life is 100% except birth and death.
That and all the conspiracy wackos and internet doctors who act like they know more than trained medical professionals
Mask don’t work! Look at the science.
First of all, who determines what are conspiracy theories?? That conspicuous in its self.
I was curious of that also! Can “Beat of Hawaii” give us a example?? I never noticed that comment before on this site.
We traveled to Honolulu from the big island and while there were some on the plane with masks, the majority did not wear them (including us). However in Honolulu there was probably 30% of the people we saw walking around were wearing masks. We assume because there was a high number of asian travelers coming from parts of the world where mask wearing is more the norm.
Flew to Hawaii via Tokyo and Japanese flights you wear masks all time on flight. The one change that should be made is mandating KN95 or N95 and above. Masks are no big deal. If it rains we do not complain about wearing a coat or using an umbrella. Just common sense.
For those of you who are wondering, one can purchase N 95 masks on Amazon, for about 1 to 2 dollars each mask. They usually sell in boxes of 20. So obviously not as cheap as those other masks that just about everyone gets for nothing, but they do filter out the vast majority of virus particles when worn correctly. And spending a few dollars extra each a flight to protect yourself and others isn’t really a huge burden in my humble opinion.
Re: Wastewater testing (WBE). I didn’t know that COVID comes out of your body in urine or feces. Am I missing something here? I thought COVID was a respiratory disease. Please enlighten me.
Hi Paul.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36178814/
Aloha.
Thanks, you learn something new everyday.
Certainly, be cultured out of your poop fact has been known for several years according to my Dr. Daughter that been in the front-line trenches with these patients from the beginning.
I just took a round trip from Lihue to HNL and back yesterday. I definitely noticed an uptick in masks worn, both on and off flights even a bit more than the week before when I was there. I was say about 40% wore masks on planes. I think all flight personnel had on masks. And it seemed more normal in stores and about town for some to wear mask and other’s not. Yep, I guess masks are back more as a norm than the short lived reprieve we had.
i’m a nurse and i’d like to remind everyone that this is an airborne virus. breathe it in, breathe it out. so wash your hands, don’t touch your face and wear a mask in high risk areas. bottom line, protect yourself and others. i’d also like to emphasize get the vaccine but that’s another can of worms.
Masking is a joke unless they are N95. The masks that most people wear are borderline useless. Unless the right masks are mandated requiring masks is merely a placebo.
Good point Eric. I spent most of my working career in the nuclear power industry where we were required to take “industrial mask safety” training annually. I’ve noticed in the last few years of mask-wearing that 98% of people are not wearing N95’s. Most people are wearing transparent cloth or “gators”. This gave rise to people having a false sense of security and a significant increase in Covid numbers.
It might be where you live because virtually everyone I know wears only N95s, we have been for quite a while now.
Thanks for your comment. It’s not where I live. I travel all over and it’s the same everywhere. I rarely see any one with an N95.
I think masks should be optional. Those that want to wear them should and those that do not shouldn’t.
Certainly, just please don’t call me out on it.
Wearing a mask should always be optional. If you think it’s protecting you wear it but you might as well wear it forever since viruses will always be with us. They were here before Covid and will be after, if it ever ends. I love how masks original intent were to cover sick persons mouths but know healthy people wear them as protection.
I won’t fly anywhere they require the ineffective masking of people on flights. Where are the peer reviewed ,double blind studies on efficacy? Faucinwas right from his first comments before lockdowns. Masks do not stop the micron sized COVID particles from transmission.
Great! Less people on planes again ….looking forward to having that extra space!
As someone who helps take care of and elderly, immune compromised family member, I hope all the airlines bring back the masking. It’s been proven that when worn properly, they help prevent the spread of airborne spread virus. For those who have a problem thinking of the health and safety of others I ask that you kindly stay home while the rest of us who actually care can enjoy our Hawaiian vacation
stay home
I’m not the one who needs to stay home pal
I definitely agree that cautions are wise. Having said that, the most recent wastewater data I see posted at the Biobot site shows a decline in wastewater counts for Hawaii statewide as of January 11 (your data is early January). Maybe I am reading it wrong. see biobot.io/data/
I never stopped wearing my mask in crowded places. I wore my mask on the flight from east coast to Hawaii. No issues. I will be wearing my mask on our upcoming trip to Europe. We spend thousands on our trips and I’m not going to stay in bed sick during our vacations. The anti mask/anti vaccine crowd can do as they please. If that want to be sick during their vacay then so be it.
Here we go again…
The article says the WHO claims this is the “most transmissible variant so far detected”. Ah, but what about the severity of this version? No one seems to consider the progression of subsequent mutations to less severe disease.
Thankfully the masking is optional (so far).
Masks don’t work and neither do the booster shots sheeple. The spread of Covid is due to the jab being no longer effective. It is like the flu shot. Just because you got the flu shot, doesn’t mean it’s effective. My mother 82 got the flu shot this past year and she came down with influenza. I have known multiple people who got the jab and lost their baby, and their life, and others who came down with Covid after they got triple boosted. Your best option is to receive natural immunity by exposing yourself to the virus. That is the only way to defeat this…but heh, what do I know? I didn’t drink the cool-aid like the rest of you sheep still wanting to mask up. Do you honestly think that diaper around your mouth is going to stop it?
Everyone is entitled to their Opinion. Why do u resort to name calling?
Natural immunity to the coronavirus, just like the acquired immunity that is provided by vaccines, fades over time. Neither one of them is perfect. A lot of us would rather acquire our immunity without having to go through the actual full disease process, which can prove fatal in many cases, as you well know.
The masks do nothing and everyone knows it. My husband and I were planning a trip back to Maui next month–but no thank you. I will not go through this garbage again.
How exactly do you figure masks do nothing? Are you a doctor or scientist?
Good.
We have continued to wear a mask on flights & in the airport. We haven’t flown since July when we definitely were in the minority. We fly to Kauai next week & I will be curious if we see more masks or not. I don’t mind wearing a mask, but there was so much mask resistance I will be surprised if many respond to a recommendation.
hilarious! you must be a liberal
Politics has nothing to do with keeping people informed. Something these gentlemen do and do well
Hi Mike.
We saw that. Thank you!
Aloha.
Some of us are immunocompromised, have never had Covid, and doing everything we can not get it! I am a principal scientist for a company that developed one of the earliest PCR tests for Covid. For 37 years I trusted an N95 mask to keep me safe. It now allows me to travel with some safety. But being in the minority in wearing a mask makes my mask-wearing less effective. Definitely not a liberal or political statement to be safe.
Thanks for your post but…
A mask should be for personal protection. Mandating everyone wear them for the benefit of an extremely small minority is madness. Besides, the masks most wear do little to nothing to prevent the spread.
Please…”Having said that”…what’s your definition of a “conspiracy theory”?
Thanks much!
My husband and I live part time on the Big Island. We’ve never stopped wearing masks on those long flights from the mainland to Hawaii.
LOL
We flew in on the 13th from Denver, and some people besides my wife and I were wearing masks. While I hate the thought of masking up again, I caught Covid-19 from the crowding at OGG last year…. Easier to mask than get sick.
How do you know that you got it at OGG?
Curtis, We were packed like sardines waiting to board, people were coughing, not wearing masks, no personal space. Spread out better on the 777. Two days after I got home I was symptomatic… Not 100% certain, but the gate was the closest I had been to others for three weeks.
We flew over one week ago today. Three separate SWA flights. The one from SJC to HNL was 100% full. Maybe 10% of the passengers, and none of the flight attendants, were wearing masks. I know, just anecdotal. I see masks on some people walking around outside in Hanalei. Again, maybe 10%, but closer to 20% at Foodland and Costco. Adding speculation to my anecdotes: Perhaps the lack of tests is an indication of a lack of meaningful symptoms? The only COVID tests we’ve ever taken was for our early November 2020 flight to Kauai. After that, the shot card sufficed.
OT – The Vog over the past several days has been terrible. Is there a Vog shot?
How about requiring a negative covid test for Every passenger 72 hours prior to departure ! Hawaii is a perfect isolated petri dish Test em All!
What no conspiracy theories? 😉
I’ll say it might be another way to keep the tourist numbers down like the HI govt was hoping to. Just Kidding!
Me? Once I get to the airport and beyond I’m masking up. Can’t hurt now can it?
See u April 15!
Aloha! Long time reader, first time emailer. Mahalo nui loa for posting this very useful and timely information. I too have been monitoring COVID implications for trips to/from the mainland and internationally and have noted the same anecdotal information as you. Additionally, I am very concerned about the information coming out of China about their current and evolving COVID status. Based on your observations of mask wearing by air travelers to and from Hawaii, I guess we’re not alone! Thanks again for keeping us abreast of Hawaii travel considerations.
Hi Gary.
Welcome! We appreciate your first ever comment and look forward to hearing from you again.
Aloha.
It’s baaaa-aaack! Mask up, people.
Yesterday I flew HA30 from Maui to Seattle. I wore an N95 the whole flight. I looked closely, and I may have counted a dozen other people in this wide-body Airbus A330, who were also wearing masks. None of the flight attendants were wearing anything but smiles SNF blue gloves.
It was a smooth and comfortable flight. No crazy passengers and only one crying baby. The “bus” is certainly showing its age, though.
“None of the flight attendants were wearing anything but smiles SNF blue gloves. ”
Nude flight attendants??? 🙂
Yes, I will put my mask on flights, since I don’t know the people behind me, especially since requirements for tests or proof of vaccines were lifted.
Aloha!
Very relevant and important info that is missing here is whether COVID at this point is any different than the flu.
Thanks
Precisely. While new variant strains continue to appear, they aren’t severe. Fear mongers continue to shout about new variants but have you noticed that they never talk about hospitalizations any more?
Why are you calling people names? 😳
Because sadly, that’s all these type of people can do it seems. They hate themselves so much and can’t accept factual information. Despite being hit in the face with fact after fact, they foolishly think that their way is the only way to think. Doctors and scientists who have spent their lives doing what they do be damned
Yes,Covid is different than the flu. Covid causes long term damage to some people. If a person does not want to wear a mask or get vaccinated then that is their prerogative. However, this article is about more people deciding to wear masks on the plane. It is not about the symptoms that Covid positive people have once they are infected. It is not about a comparison between flu and Covid. If some want to risk being sick(whether it is body aches,cough,runny nose,difficulty breathing..etc)then go ahead. And if others want to reduce the chances that they will be sick during their vacation then that is their right.