747FC

Just an FYI, the infection and fatality rate on Maui is much higher than other islands:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...rus-cases.html

dhuey

I'm not sure that tells us anything about potential effects of loosening some restrictions on tourists. Seems like it shows that for whatever reason locals are infecting other locals in Maui with greater frequency than on other islands.

mtofell

There was a breakout at a hospital that was responsible for the elevated cases in Maui compared to the other islands. I don't think that indicates anything about Maui's population as a whole or any specific thing here on the island. Basically, that could happen anywhere and just happened in Maui. Kind of bad luck I suppose.

The larger point (and relating it back to the question of lifting the 14-day quarantine) is that the Hawaiian islands have vastly different population distributions and can't be treated the same. Unfortunately, I rarely hear Ige mention that in anything he says. Hawaii is kind of a microcosm of the mainland as a whole. A rule for reopening NY should not be the same as the one for reopening Montana.

dhuey

I sure don't envy public officials who are making these tough decisions, in Hawaii and elsewhere.

Boraxo

I don't envy them but I have no hesitation in criticizing them from all sides. NYC Mayor and Governor should be impeached (could have saved thousands of lives by shutting down earlier instead of telling people to enjoy shows and restaurants) and on the opposite end California and Hawaii should never have implemented harsh closures in rural areas (and need to speed up the gradual re-openings). Health officers are paid to be over-conservative. Governors are paid to make decisions that are best for the entire state. There are ways to look after the most vulnerable without destroying everything else, as evidenced in other countries.

philemer

Only one new case today. https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/...edia-briefing/
Things are looking up. We cancelled our trip this month but are planning on going in Jan.

mtofell

From the article - At his briefing Tuesday, Ige announced that the businesses could reopen Thursday. Only later that night did he amend his order to match Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s aim of reopening on May 15. Additionally, he left the start-date out of Maui County’s order because Mayor Michael Victorino was still working out his own timeline.

No problem guys.... it's not as though you are dealing with people's livelihood and income. We understand.... you're sitting in your offices and are BEING PAID!! We know it's a huge hassle to pick up the phone and consult one another before telling HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people when they can GO BACK TO WORK!!!!. It's all good.... keep it real.... it's Hawaii man.

What a bunch of LOSERS. Sorry to vent but this is just so typical of government. Totally out of touch with the plight of people they serve. If I made a mistake 1/100th this bad with my business I'd be OUT OF BUSINESS and my family would be starving.

Full disclosure, I'm a part-time Hawaii resident and don't have a business directly tied to Hawaii so this BS has no real impact on me. It just pisses me off to the point of making my blood boil that our elected leaders have such little consideration for the lives of the people they "serve".

JNelson113

It's maddening to say the least.

ajf87

Hawaii will be in much better shape sooner than the mainland, but since many other states are blowing this whole thing off I don't see the 14-day quarantine being lifted on May 31st for mainland visitors (it will probably be different for inter-island travel for Hawaii residents, hopefully). It's already difficult to enforce a relatively simple rule, I can't imagine how much more difficult it would be to have different rules for visitors from different states.
And for everyone getting pissy, you can thank certain states and their "leaders" for wanting to re-open despite no widespread testing, contact tracing, vaccine, or flattening of the curve. Hawaii is rightfully not willing to sacrifice their at-risk citizens in the name of the economy. That and the Trump rallies "protests" to re-open Applebee's and GreatClips.

Boraxo

That's a pretty broad brush. California has been on major lockdown for almost 2 months and has 1/8 of the US population. Throw in Washington and Oregon and you probably have 50 million potential visitors. As I suggested above, Hawaii could easily open up to residents of these states and require airlines to test before boarding. Or just require visitors to bring proof of recent tests (my county is now offering free tests to all residents. Airlines that fail to comply will be forced to repatriate passengers to the mainland on the next flight. I have personally seen this done in other countries for arrivals that lack proper paperwork, and airlines can easily enforce this requirement at the boarding gate.

But why bother to come up with a reasonable plan to rescue your economy when you can just sit comfortably in your government office and let your health officers take the heat and your constituents can get bailout money to buy some rice and spam.

ajf87

LOL. Yeah those darn Hawaiians, bunch of lazy islanders who want to sit around on the dole eating rice and spam. FYI the state's unemployment before this was 2%, the lowest of any state ever recorded. And there is a phased re-opening that is county by county (island by island) that just started today on the island of Hawaii.

JNelson113

I didn't read it as critical of the Hawaiian people, but of the local and state government leaders, who continue to do ridiculous things.

DELee

Or either as little as possible or more or less nothing.

David

nomad420

Do you have any source of information regarding the phased in re-opening for Hawaii county? Searching now but for me the real issue is the quarantine.

escapefromphl

They are doubling down on persuading folks not to show up intending not to adhere to quarantine, https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/...ng-passengers/ There is no info yet on when it will be lifted. They are clearly prioritizing safety at the moment but at some point the economic issues may come into play.