Virus insanity
Are my fellow citizens on to something I’m missing? Because one of us is crazy, or at least acting that way.
I’m far from a President Trump supporter, but I will admit he certainly seems correct in stating 22,000 died from influenza last year (actually his figure is probably very low).
I learned from a PSA advocating flu vaccine that more than 200 people here in Hawaii died from flu last year!
Sadly, many thousands die each year from it, some because they refuse to vaccinate, some with underlying health issues, some who just don’t take the illness seriously.
What, please tell me, makes this new virus not only different, but so threatening as to effectively shut down businesses, jobs, the economy and even personal lives? Haven’t you always washed your hands often, especially when around people who are ill? Don’t you always drink plenty of fluids and stay home in bed if you do come down with the flu, and see your doctor or hospital if you get worse? That’s exactly what your treatment would be if you contract COVID-19.
This hoarding and suspicion, isolation and selfishness I see in the media every day seems like an off-the-chart overreaction to me — maybe warranted if we were dealing with Ebola or the plague or some new equally deadly disease.
Here in Hawaii, we are blessed to have fewer than 10 cases so far, and I know on the mainland there are about 1,700 to date, and the 50-plus deaths are tragic, but does this warrant the near-panic that seems to have gripped the nation and the world?
I even have friends who won’t come over for lunch for fear of getting/giving an infection! How and when does this end and we get the “all clear”?
I really wish a medical professional could cure my ignorance and teach me how much more horrific this virus is than existing ones humans have to unfortunately deal with, preferably while there’s still toilet paper on the shelves.
Am I the crazy one?
Mary Serion
Ainaola
No fireworks, please
So now that school is out for two weeks instead of the usual one, please, people, don’t set off loud fireworks just because you can stay up late every night.
You still have the same neighbors and the same poor pets that have to deal with your lack of consideration.
Fireworks are for the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve only. This has been a problem for a few years now in Hawaiian Paradise Park, and it’s getting pretty tiresome.
Do something more creative with your time off.
J. Ingman
Hawaiian Paradise Park