I'm still seeing vaccination rates in Hawaii just over 60%, and yes it's about 12+ age. Meanwhile, Kauai is having a surge of cases without being traced to an encounter. Delta has made it's presence here.
The state of Hawaii is going all out for welcoming visitors. It's not going well. Shortage of rental cars, limitations on restaurants, higher hotel rates, paying for permits at some beaches, etc. And locals are angry that tourists curse and threaten them. We are NOT Disneyland.
We're undergoing a new phase. I don't know how this will end.
Meanwhile, fortunately I didn't have to go to my physical office. A crowd gathered at the entrance to the building in some kind of protest. There are other ways to exit, and hopefully everyone was able to leave without any trouble.
You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
Our newspaper is available now. About the protest:
Many demonstrators yielded signs at the civic center rejecting COVID-19 vaccinations, calling for the reopening of County Council chambers as well as county offices, and to not enforce vaccination amongst adults and children. Supporters at the event said they felt their freedom to gather and make choices for their own bodies are being trampled upon.
“However, based on the signs on display: We agree that vaccines should be voluntary, which they are. We agree that children should be in school, which DOE has already announced for the upcoming school year. We agree that the county should not be funding the state Department of Health, which we do not, as it is not a county office,” Blane said in a Monday email. “All county offices and services are available and open to the public, some by appointment.”
People can't enter the offices unless they have an appointment. Oh, the horror
You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
Since the changes in Covid-19 protocol (masks, # of people in restaurants, reduced testing for travelers, etc.), things are quickly getting out of hand in Hawaii. 4th of July activities are being blamed. Cuz why not?
Coronavirus cases by island.png (133.79 KiB) Viewed 2845 times
You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
The coronavirus has killed nearly 4 million people since it first emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2019, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
New confirmed cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, remain high, and the world struggles with unequal vaccine rollouts and new threats posed by fast-spreading variants.
“The pandemic is a long way far from over,” World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in May. “It will not be over anywhere until it’s over everywhere.”
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
Hawaii's infection rate among the unvaccinated now is high as it was for entire state during pandemic’s peak. However, the current hospitalization rate is 25% of what it was at the peak, because the majority of patients are younger. The vaccination rate for 50+ is high.
This is our 7th day of new cases topping 100 - today it's 163. It's happening very quickly. DOH estimates that delta is 225% more transmissible.
Despite the ease of getting vaccinated - and maybe at home and with gift cards & other goodies - only 59.3% of the state's entire population is fully vaccinated and 65.7% have at least one dose.
Using a tier system, we should be moving back down to more restrictions, but there is a lot resistance to doing so. I thought this might happen when restrictions were reduced because of the belief that it would encourage more vaccinations. Instead it slowed the shots even more.
With public schools opening in early August, tourism taking off, and people getting sloppy about masks & maintaining distance, DOE and many (but not all) businesses are getting nervous and looking at requiring stricter standards.
You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.