Sometimes a little hysteria is a good thing. It can wake up the complacent. Maybe, this time there is something really wrong. Once you are alert, it’s time to think how to react. Which existential crisis gets priority? My guess is the one that can kill you now, but it’s a mistake to let immediate problems distract you entirely from long-term goals. The one decision that is almost always wrong is to do nothing. Make a decision.
COVID-19 might be a high priority, if you are near an infected area. So far, the Big Island, being literally the end of the world but has access to modern medical care, has stayed free. The science is available from reliable sources like the CDC. On the other hand, the CDC is too small to take on the entire problem. Local knowledge is important. In any case follow the advice from local public health officials. I won’t bore you with repetition. They are more likely to be up to date than politicians 5,000 miles away.
The question here is how to wash our hands with warm water when public restrooms in Hawaii, if you can even find one, do not have hot water. Remember when restaurants would greet with a steaming hot towel.
Whatever you do, avoid silly advice like: depending on a few extra herbal supplements or drinking bleach
The important thing is to start making new habits now because unlearning old habits is very difficult; it takes practice. Don’t depend on the federal government for much help, it was designed to be slow and deliberate. FEMA is just getting around to the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Currently, Washington is just creating more confusion. The delay in mass producing test kits is inexcusable. The U.S. was the world’s leader in mass production. One way we reacted to the needs of World War II was that companies released their proprietary designs to competitors so production could increase. Most Convair bombers were built at Ford. If CDC has plans for testing kits, why can’t they publish all the details so other labs maybe even factories can make them? Maybe some independent will see a better way to produce them. A monopoly does not do an organization much good if all the customers are dead. It would not be a big problem to have a surplus of test kits, hopefully an inexpensive self-test kit.
The chronic noise about how cellphones are corrupting our society has been banished to page 9. It is no longer an existential problem, if it ever was. That’s OK, every new technology from 5G to automation to dynamite and probably fire had its generation of naysayers and almost always they have been wrong. Maybe, by keeping people a few yards apart, cellphone addiction will reduce the spread of infection.
Analyze carefully the examples of how the United States of America should react like other countries. Some are smaller than New York. We have 330 million people, only China and India have more. China has extremely crowded conditions. South Korea has done well but would fit in San Bernardino County. It also has a relatively homogeneous population, that makes some things simpler. Please! COVID-19 is not a necessary correction to overpopulation; that thinking can lead to genocide.
Can we spread out public events, as some churches have done by moving services outdoors?
Quarantine of ships is a tradition as old as navigation, but it does not seem to keep it from spreading within even the most spacious modern ship.
No one should be afraid to be tested because they can’t afford the bill or the hassle of trying to get reimbursed. Most insurers are champions at not delivering on promises, but instead finding gaps in coverage buried in pages of fine print and legalese, this includes Medicare and Medicaid; both notorious for not paying the going rate for many services, especially in Hawaii County; for some bureaucratic reason they do not recognize us as rural. This situation really emphasizes the importance of national universal health care.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Send feedback to obenskik@gmail.com