Your Views for August 26

Disrespectful tourists

First we get the couple harassing our endangered species. Then we get the couple with phony vaccination paperwork.

Hopefully the prosecutor will give the maximum fine, and maximum jail sentence, as well as a lifetime ban from visiting Hawaii.

It’s obvious, by their actions, that they have zero respect for anything or anyone here.

Jennifer Tanner

Pahoa

Please do more

What are our leaders doing to protect Hawaii? It is time to get serious about this pandemic.

Sixty-two percent of Hawaii residents are vaccinated. Our hospitals are at the breaking point. I don’t know what the statistics are locally, but nationwide around 95% of people hospitalized for COVID are unvaccinated — 95% of these hospital beds could be vacant is people would just get vaccinated.

Our health care system is at the point of collapse, while our state and local officials waffle and do nothing. This is what should be happening:

1) All health care workers statewide must be vaccinated;

2) All state and county employees must be vaccinated, or face weekly testing;

3) Anyone coming to Hawaii from anywhere must be vaccinated;

4) Anyone flying interisland must show proof of vaccination;

5) Proof of vaccination required for restaurants, bars, gyms, any nonessential public venues.

We need to insist that more people get vaccinated. Those of us refusing to get vaccinated are endangering the health and welfare of our local community, endangering our economy, endangering the lives of their friends and neighbors.

Our leaders need to stop waffling and make some hard decisions. Everyone needs to get the vaccine.

Richard L. Solie

Keaau

‘Stop this now’

What is Gov. Ige doing? We had COVID under control.

Did he wake up one morning and turn into GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida?

Starting June 15, the cases skyrocketed. Why is Ige, who I voted for, letting this happen?

Tourists’ dollars are not going to help all the people who are going to die if someone doesn’t stop this upward trend in infections.

Five hundred to over 1,000 new cases a day? Really?

Then we have letters from people threatening to come from Florida, the hotspot of death and illness.

Come on, Ige, do your job, and stop this now.

The economy is taking a hit regardless. Either fewer tourism dollars or sick and dying people.

But it looks like you made your bed, and its going to be in the COVID wing of a hospital at this rate.

Shame on you for letting this happen two years after it started. That’s just dumb.

Dennis Chaquette

Keaau