Does the governor’s latest emergency decree mean that our early morning walks on the beach before dawn are now illegal?
Hawaii Governor David Ige issued his 5th Supplementary Proclamation under emergency powers that derive from his declaration of a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic. This 5th Supplement went into effect on Friday at 12:01 a.m., and among other things declared all state beaches “closed.”
Here’s the relevant section from the proclamation.
Beach Closures. All state beaches in Hawai?i are hereby closed. No person shall sit, stand, lie down, lounge, sunbathe, or loiter on any state beach or sand bar in Hawai?i, except when transiting across or through beaches to access the ocean waters for outdoor exercise purposes, such as surfing, solo paddling, and swimming, so long as physical distancing requirements are maintained.
Walking doesn’t fit among the activities specifically prohibited (“No person shall sit, stand, lie down, lounge, sunbathe, or loiter on any state beach or sand bar”). And the proclamation allows other “outdoor exercise activies” such as surfing, paddling, and swimming.
How about senior citizens getting their exercise walking on the beach very early in the morning, maintaining social distance, and wearing masks around any other people? We’re not loitering, lounging, or sunbathing. Are we just collateral damage in efforts to control groups of people partying at the beach?
Today, for the first time in a very long time, we didn’t walk to the beach to watch the sunrise. Instead, out of an abundance of caution, we walked a couple of miles around the neighborhood, up around Kahala Mall, and back. Definitely not the same as welcoming being on the beach to welcome the dawn.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/05/the-coronavirus-mutated-and-appears-to-be-more-contagious-now-new-study-finds.html
“The coronavirus has mutated and appears to be more contagious now, new study finds
“The coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, has mutated and the new, dominant strain spreading across the U.S. appears to be even more contagious, according to a new study.
“The new strain began spreading in Europe in early February before migrating to other parts of the world, including the U.S., becoming the dominant form of the virus across the globe by the end of March, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory wrote.
“If the coronavirus doesn’t subside in the summer like the seasonal flu, it could mutate further and potentially limit the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines being developed by scientists, the researchers warned.”
The Future of Travel
How the industry will change after the pandemic.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/06/travel/coronavirus-travel-questions.html
“[T]here’s no data to show that mask-wearing by people who are not health care workers provides any protection from coronavirus.”
https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/04/shes-running-hawaiis-virus-response-but-should-we-trust-her/
This was once the official position of the CDC, but it’s all gotten a lot more complicated.
First, the CDC changed its mind.
https://www.cnet.com/health/cdc-says-we-all-should-wear-face-coverings-to-avoid-spreading-coronavirus/
Second, the CDC distinguishes between MASKS and “face covering”, which it recommends. You can make your own face covering at home.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
What the CDC refers to as “masks” are the N95 masks that healthcare workers wear.
Even this is complicated because, technically, an N95 is a “respirator”, and what surgeons wear is called a “mask”.
The N95s are in short supply. Often, after a 12 hour shift, a physician will place their N95 in a paper bag and leave it alone for a week before using it again, to make sure that any virus on the mask is destroyed. So doctors and nurses will each own several N95s and recycle them rather than throw them away.
Third, the CDC originally feared that if Americans wore masks, then they would become overconfident and not take precautions like hand washing and social distancing. The reality that emerged is that people who wear masks are generally more conscientious and take all precautions. The face covering helps to remind people to take precautions, and it reinforces those habits in others as well.
The real problem in the United States turns out to be the rest of the public, which scoffs at precautions. Subsequently, to wear or not wear a mask has become a big political or cultural thing in America, while everywhere else people are wearing a face covering.
This is a big problem for ending the lockdown. In all the other societies, ending the lockdown means strengthening precautions, like wearing masks, hand washing, social distancing, etc. In America, opening the economy seems to mean ceasing these practices. The fact that face coverings were never widely adopted in America might mean that precautions will get more sloppy rather than more strict.
A single infected yet asymptomatic person visiting a few nightclubs means an impossible task for an army of contact tracers.
https://www.newsweek.com/south-korea-hailed-pandemic-response-backtracks-reopening-after-covid-19-cases-jump-1502864
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/10/scientists-concerned-that-coronavirus-is-adapting-to-humans
Scientists concerned that coronavirus is adapting to humans
Researchers have observed mutations in some strains that may help the virus spread
If a virus mutates to adapt to a new species, that is not necessarily a bad thing for that species.
A smart virus would not kill its host, so over time, viruses tend to evolve to be less deadly to their hosts. What is referred to as the seasonal flu was often at one time a much more deadly virus.
The coronavirus is “novel” in that it has never infected humanity before, and that means that humans have no immunity, but it also means that the virus is harsh on humans. As it adopts to humans and becomes endemic, it might become more contagious, but also more harmless.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-08/a-lesson-from-the-spanish-flu-don-t-end-restrictions-too-soon
New research says shutdowns need to last 12 weeks in order to save lives.
On the planet Neptune the men wear purple masks and rattle their heads while the women make the sound “yep.” (Source: personal comunication.)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/14/coronavirus-who-warns-it-could-take-up-to-5-years-to-control-pandemic.html
WHO warns it could take up to 5 years before the coronavirus pandemic is under control
The coronavirus pandemic may continue into the latter half of the decade, a senior global health official has warned, as the death toll of the virus approaches the grim milestone of 300,000.
At a separate media briefing, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program, said at the organization’s Geneva headquarters on Wednesday that the coronavirus “may never go away.”