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Ironically, after Maui Mayor Victorino asked the airlines to voluntarily curb flights to Maui, he then vetoed a bill that would have placed a moratorium on new hotel construction.
Quote: As you know, Maui’s Mayor Victorino recently called for airlines to limit service to Kahului voluntarily. That isn’t going to happen. On the other hand, he also just vetoed Bill 60, also known as the Hotel Construction Moratorium Bill.
Quote: ...the mayor doesn’t believe the bill would relieve airport crowding, reduce traffic, or reduce illegal vacation rentals.
WTH! More hotels won't INCREASE airport crowding or INCREASE traffic??? What kind of logic is this?
(Someone is looking out for campaign contributors.)
Ironically, after Maui Mayor Victorino asked the airlines to voluntarily curb flights to Maui, he then vetoed a bill that would have placed a moratorium on new hotel construction.
WTH! More hotels won't INCREASE airport crowding or INCREASE traffic??? What kind of logic is this?
(Someone is looking out for campaign contributors.)
Sounds like your Mayor would be a supporter for a rail project!
I think they are just being cautious. This is due to the coronavirus and the pandemic. Hawai'i's numbers is still rising. 40.000 plus cases since March 2020. Really getting up there. It should be leveling off to zero. But no....
I recently got back from Oahu and locals seemed delighted to have my tourists dollars. Service at hotels/restaurants were all as amazing as ever and the Aloha spirit seemed alive and well. I think wearing a mask wherever I went in public and being friendly/patient didn't hurt, but I felt as safe/comfortable there as I did back in the Bay Area, and we bounced around the whole island.
I'm sure things are probably different on the other islands, but for a remote-work/low key beach trip, I thought it was great.
That said, I do think they need to require BOTH proof of vaxx and a negative PCR test since COVID seems to be picking up steam, but everything I've read (and even the locals I talked to about it) seemed to blame locals visiting the mainland and bringing it back with them.
I recently got back from Oahu and locals seemed delighted to have my tourists dollars. Service at hotels/restaurants were all as amazing as ever and the Aloha spirit seemed alive and well. I think wearing a mask wherever I went in public and being friendly/patient didn't hurt, but I felt as safe/comfortable there as I did back in the Bay Area, and we bounced around the whole island.
I'm sure things are probably different on the other islands, but for a remote-work/low key beach trip, I thought it was great.
That said, I do think they need to require BOTH proof of vaxx and a negative PCR test since COVID seems to be picking up steam, but everything I've read (and even the locals I talked to about it) seemed to blame locals visiting the mainland and bringing it back with them.
Blaming locals has been promoted in the media but it seems highly unlikely that returning locals are bringing all of the new cases to Hawaii and tourists aren't bringing any.
Our new case counts are 900+ every day now. Beginning Sept. 13th, vaccine proof or recent test results will be required on Oahu to enter a gym, theater, bar, restaurant, etc. No doubt the other islands will soon follow.
Pre-school programs such as Head Start just returned to distance learning. Can the rest of the public schools be far behind?
Blaming locals has been promoted in the media but it seems highly unlikely that returning locals are bringing all of the new cases to Hawaii and tourists aren't bringing any.
Our new case counts are 900+ every day now. Beginning Sept. 13th, vaccine proof or recent test results will be required on Oahu to enter a gym, theater, bar, restaurant, etc. No doubt the other islands will soon follow.
Pre-school programs such as Head Start just returned to distance learning. Can the rest of the public schools be far behind?
I agree that it is likely that locals are bringing it in at about the same rate as tourists.
But, it seems quite likely much more of the spread is in fact due to locals bringing it in. Tourists don't have that much interaction with people here outside of hotels, restaurants, and other similar places, most of which are following reasonably strict precautions. Whereas, locals are much more likely to attend family gatherings, churches, social, and sporting events where they have much more contact with people and precautions might not be as strict.
I agree that it is likely that locals are bringing it in at about the same rate as tourists.
But, it seems quite likely much more of the spread is in fact due to locals bringing it in. Tourists don't have that much interaction with people here outside of hotels, restaurants, and other similar places, most of which are following reasonably strict precautions. Whereas, locals are much more likely to attend family gatherings, churches, social, and sporting events where they have much more contact with people and precautions might not be as strict.
This is what news reports keep parroting but the tourist-service industry is the largest employer in the state. Locals are interacting with tourists constantly and THEN attending these family gatherings et. al..
Many/most restaurant/retail employees are young and may not exhibit any symptoms yet still spread the virus to family members.
My point is that locals aren't somehow more likely than tourists to carry Covid-19 here from the mainland yet that is what is being reported.
I think this whole story has been fabricated in an attempt to prevent a backlash against tourists.
Blaming locals has been promoted in the media but it seems highly unlikely that returning locals are bringing all of the new cases to Hawaii and tourists aren't bringing any.
Not all - but the numbers have been roughly 90%+ are locals traveling - unvaccinated. Generally in poorer and uneducated areas.
This is what news reports keep parroting but the tourist-service industry is the largest employer in the state. Locals are interacting with tourists constantly and THEN attending these family gatherings et. al..
Many/most restaurant/retail employees are young and may not exhibit any symptoms yet still spread the virus to family members.
My point is that locals aren't somehow more likely than tourists to carry Covid-19 here from the mainland yet that is what is being reported.
I think this whole story has been fabricated in an attempt to prevent a backlash against tourists.
So, I could accept that tourists are spreading the virus as well, though I'm not sure if it's as much as tourists as I'd wager tourists are much more likely to hang out around other tourists vice residents, the importance of which becomes clearer below.
My thing is that it is entirely believable that the initial case spread we are seeing comes from locals overwhelmingly. Tourists are overwhelmingly coming in vaccinated or with an opt out test. Very few tourists are ROMing, which is generally taking place within the solitude of a hotel room where it does happen and where it is harder for them to break quarantine (compared to residents) without getting caught.
This is in contrast to locals, who are more likely to choose the ROM option and much more likely to ROM under the same roof with family members/roommates who are not subject to the ROM and are spreading things that way.
True, one can get and spread the vaccine even if vaccinated or even if coming into the area with a negative test (e.g. they can get it while there and continue to spread). Thus, in a case like this, tourists would still share some blame for the spread, but they seem less likely than residents to bring COVID into the state to begin with. And, acknowledging that you can still spread and catch COVID even if vaccinated, you're less likely to get the virus if vaccinated and are less likely to spread if asymptomatic.
I bring this up because, you can get rid of tourists all you want, but as long as residents are allowed to come and go and ROM under the same roof as other residents who are not subject to the ROM, you are still going to have a problem with COVID spread. Tourists may help exacerbate the spread due to their numbers and coming into contact with the hosts (e.g. infected residents), but there are enough residents on the islands, alone, to see significant spread absent tourists being there.
All in all, though, I think we need to be clear that the mess the state is seeing at the hospitals is entirely preventable and overwhelmingly the fault of residents who refuse to get vaccinated. We have a way to mitigate the hospital crisis, and that's by getting vaccinated. We can get into who is behind the spread and whether one group shares of of the blame for the spread, but the fact remains that residents are certainly to blame for the preventable mess at the hospitals.
“I know people don’t want to hear this because they seem to be hell-bent on believing it’s tourists,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. “But the very fact of the matter is I’m talking to the CEOs of our hospitals they’re seeing very few of any tourists come in. This is a local situation.”
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What kind of logic is this?
