Two

On Wednesday, an unidentified senior citizen was hospitalized in serious condition after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. The individual had visited the State of Washington, subsequently became ill there, and foolishly made the return flight to Hawai’i anyway. The individual is now the second confirmed case of novel coronavirus infection in Hawai’i.

Frankly, the assertion that there are only two cases of novel coronavirus infections and no “community spread” is sounding more ludicrous by the day. First, there was the elderly Japanese couple who both tested positive when they returned home after traipsing around Mau’i and O’ahu.

Then, the now-quarantined Grand Princess cruise ship docked on four islands and the 3,500+ passengers and crew were free to disembark and engage in tourist activities. The cross passengers on the ship were exposed to the novel coronavirus on the first leg of the ship’s itinerary to Mexico. The idea that only 19 people have tested positive is equally ludicrous given that everyone was so close-quartered. The ship is docking at a non-commercial port in Oakland on Monday. The remaining passengers and crew are to be quarantined and tested. The higher the number of people testing positive translates to more possible local coronavirus exposure than has been determined.

Finally, domestic and international tourists were flowing into Hawai’i until last week. There is absolutely no screening of any kind in place at the airports, as confirmed anecdotally by many tourists. Visitors from both South Korea and Japan kept arriving even during the time that new cases of novel coronavirus infections were ramping up in those respective nations.

The ridiculous CDC coronavirus testing prerequisites amount to test rationing. People exhibiting less severe symptoms were probably given a bottle of NyQuil® and dismissed. They are now lurking in the crowds, spreading the disease surreptitiously and unwittingly. Meanwhile, the disgusting odor of hand sanitizers permeates the air everywhere.

In Hawai’i, the hospitality industry, or tourism, is the only driver of its economic engine. Therefore, nothing must get in its way. That’s why Hawai’i, unlike other states in empire, received no national news coverage about its first and second confirmed novel coronavirus infections. There’s no mention that the governor declared a “state of emergency” either. What entity is involved in the cover-up? The Hawai’i Tourism Authority (HTA)?

Addendum: The ignorance displayed by myriad mental midgets cannot be overstated. “The coronavirus is a hoax. The [seasonal] flu kills way more people,” is the common refrain. Oh, why can’t someone develop a virus that decimates the mental midget population?