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Governor's Sign Language interpreter Dies from COVID-19

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Governor's Sign Language interpreter Dies from COVID-19

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Old Jan 18, 2021, 12:07 pm
  #1  
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Governor's Sign Language interpreter Dies from COVID-19

Some sad news in Hawaii: one of the Governor's ASL interpreters died from COVID on Friday; she's believed to have caught it while flying from Honolulu to San Diego.

She was an on-screen fixture through Ige's COVID press conferences, including all of the events surrounding the pre-travel testing program. She also rotated in providing service to Mayor Caldwell's press conferences on Oahu.

With the governor's press conferences sometimes repetitive or predictable, the ASL interpreters became break-out stars here.

If you watched the always-changing travel restriction announcements on TV, you're sure to recognize her.

ASL Interpreter Dies from COVID-19
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Old Jan 18, 2021, 12:59 pm
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Omg how awful! Yikes. Just the idea of catching on a flight makes me wonder if anybody else was traced to be infected from that same flight. Ugh.
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Old Jan 18, 2021, 6:29 pm
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Very sad to hear but it would be helpflul to see any kind of factual information backing such claim...

“We know now that somewhere between the Honolulu airport and the San Diego airport she contracted the virus,” said her older sister Lorna Mouton Riff"
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Old Jan 18, 2021, 6:34 pm
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Originally Posted by azepine00
Very sad to hear but it would be helpflul to see any kind of factual information backing such claim...

“We know now that somewhere between the Honolulu airport and the San Diego airport she contracted the virus,” said her older sister Lorna Mouton Riff"
Yes, not good. However, as azepine00 notes, no info as to whether she was tested prior to departure, how long since landing in SD did symptoms present, etc.

David
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Old Jan 18, 2021, 11:44 pm
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Way more info needed. Or its just another fear post.
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Old Jan 19, 2021, 8:54 am
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Some more details came out. She had a negative PCR test to leave for her short trip...and had another test taken in San Diego to comply with Hawaii requirements to return. That test ended up being positive, she quickly developed severe symptoms, and died days later. Apparently she had difficulties breathing, was brought to an ER, and put on a ventilator. Because doctors said she wouldn't make it, the family had the ventilator turned off.
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Old Jan 20, 2021, 6:49 pm
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New York Times had an article about her today:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/u...-language.html

"Ms. Sakal, who lived in Honolulu, died at Alvarado Hospital Medical Center in San Diego, where she had gone last month to visit one of her daughters, according to Ms. Sakal’s sister, Lorna Mouton Riff."

RIP
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