Stay Safe in the Aloha State

By Léo Azambuja

On Feb. 29, the White House announced the first confirmed death in United States soil of a person infected with COVID-19, or novel coronavirus. Meanwhile the world was bracing for a potential coronavirus pandemic, which may have been declared by the time you read this.

We should measure no efforts to make sure we stay safe in Hawai‘i, and we should also have a decent plan to deal with a pandemic. Keep informed by reading the news and listening to recommendations by local, state and federal health agencies and governments.

We may have dodged an early bullet in Hawai‘i, after a Japanese couple who had just visited Maui and then O‘ahu from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 tested positive upon returning to Japan. The man showed flu-like symptoms while on O‘ahu, and was diagnosed 10 days after returning home. Hawai‘i Director of Health Bruce said the Japanese visitor was likely exposed before he traveled to Hawai‘i or while in transit here. By press time, there were no reported cases in Hawai‘i, but it could be only a matter of time until this changes.

When February came to an end, there were more than 88,000 reported cases of coronavirus spread in 67 countries and territories, with more than 3,000 deaths. Those still alive, half had recovered, and the other half were still sick, including more than 7,600 in serious or critical condition, according to worldometers.info/coronavirus, which monitors the spread of the disease. In the U.S., there were 73 cases, with only nine having already recovered, and one death.

By the time you read this, however, all these numbers will be grossly outdated, because more than 2,200 new cases and almost 60 deaths are being reported daily around the world. Though the majority of cases are in China (nearly 80,000 as of March 1), the disease is spreading quickly in other parts of the world.

Despite no confirmed cases in Hawai‘i by the end of February, the state Department of Health said 96 people were self-monitoring for the virus, having recently traveled to China. Only one of those people was on Kaua‘i. Maui also had only one person, while Big Island had five, and O‘ahu had the bulk of it, 88 people.

Because Hawai‘i is so geographically isolated from the rest of the world, a full-scale pandemic has great potential to destabilize our economy, highly dependent on tourism, and also our food supply, since we import about 90 percent of our food. And I won’t even get into fossil fuel dependency.

Social chaos could be looming, and it is definitely a concern, but of course, the biggest, most heartfelt impact in our community would be the loss of life.

Scientists are racing to develop a vaccine against coronavirus, but even with time being of the essence, the most optimistic estimate is a couple months for a new vaccine to be ready for animal trials, and probably a year for it to be ready for mass production.

The Centers for Disease Control says the best prevention is to avoid exposure to the virus, and recommends a series of actions to help prevent spreading or contracting the disease.

First of all, you should avoid contact with sick and infected people. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a household cleaning spray.

The CDC does not recommend healthy people to wear a facemask to prevent infection against respiratory diseases, including coronavirus. However, those who show symptoms should wear a mask to prevent spreading the disease to others. Additionally, health-care workers and caretakers should also wear masks.

For those who are sick, the CDC recommends that they be isolated in a hospital or at home, depending how sick they are, until they do not pose a risk of infecting others. The isolation period can vary from person to person. The CDC says it’s OK to release patients from isolation as long as they don’t have a fever anymore, do not cough or show other symptoms, and have tested negative on two consecutive specimens collected at least 24 hours apart.

Those who have been released from isolation are not considered a risk to others anymore, according to the CDC.

We should follow CDC’s recommendations to stay clean and safe. We should also stock at least a couple weeks of food, whether or not the virus is a risk in Hawai‘i, given the constant threat of hurricanes and tsunamis we face here.

I would also seriously consider a staycation rather than a vacation this year. Or no vacation at all.

Aloha and stay safe.