Listen to the Public Health professionals
Mayor Harry Kim has it wrong. He just does not understand the nature of spread of contagious disease. He is, unfortunately, not alone. It appears most of our political leader share this misunderstanding. Even many doctors, who aren’t up to date on infectious diseases can fall into this category.
The important point missed is that diseases like COVID-19 spread in a community in an exponential, logarithmic manner, not linear. This means it grows very rapidly and will quickly get out of control unless early forceful control efforts are taken. If you wait until the results of spread are obvious, you will be likely too late to stop it and will have illness, death and disruption that can be controlled only through Herculean mitigation efforts.
Public Health scientists have studied this type of infectious disease behavior, know how to control it and give very specific steps to take. Compromising their recommendations, with other social and economic considerations is more likely to result in failure. This lesson has been demonstrated time and time again in country after country these last eight months. But, political leaders under pressure often fall back on their traditional strategy of balancing competing constituencies with a compromise policy.
This is tragically misguided reasoning when dealing with a contagion like COVID-19 or managing a war. Action must be aggressive, precise and early, especially early. Hesitation, modest and more general actions will more likely fail in controlling COVID-19 as it would be in a war.
The public must be asked to and be willing to sacrifice for the common good. Without that we will not get over COVID-19 in the near future.
We must listen to our Public Health professionals and pray that our leaders also do so.
William Seal, MD FACP, (retired)
Kailua-Kona
Betrayal of fiduciary responsibility
Under the cover of the world’s managed COVID-19 outbreak, and the worlds highest COVID-19 death count, Trump’s Postal Service appointee is busy trying to stop your vote. Trump’s Veterans Affairs appointee is also busy making it harder for veterans to receive service-related disability benefits by ending a decades long program that allowed veteran service officers 48 hours to review a decision made by the VA for accuracy before sending it to the veteran.
Anyone who has had to deal with the VA knows how difficult it can be to wade through the process without the help of people who have experience dealing with the complexities. This is a betrayal of the fiduciary responsibility to America’s veterans by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Trump himself will not defend our troops against Putin’s reported cash bounty to Al-Qaeda on U.S. troops. Trump is only interested in using our troops and veterans as photo opportunities to promote his fake love of country.
Leslie Iijima
Waikoloa
We can all help in a small way
We have a grandson who works for the post office. He is a young, proud American. He works very hard and so I want to make a suggestion to all that value and appreciate your postal workers: Buy postage stamps and lots of other items.
Go online or order a catalog. You would be amazed at what you can buy to support your Postal Service. I have personally ordered some of my Christmas gifts from the catalog. Here are some of things you can buy: Playing cards, backpacks, shirts, dog and kids costumes (Halloween is coming) and toy trucks and cars.
Maybe start the kids collecting stamps. It’s not just a hobby, it’s can be valuable in the future.
We can all help in a small way.
Chris Danzilo
Waimea
Love can be blind
If one is blinded by love, the twist of darkness was keenly re-positioned to the opposition.
All the fears the speakers of the Republic National Convention spouted the first two nights are exactly what this current Trump administration has been doing for the past three and one half years — i.e. get the golf game at my course, government meetings with no personnel recorder to allow for meeting minutes, pushing the envelope on Democratic laws, family business benefiting from security cost for golf games at his golf properties, not to forget the vice president staying at a Trump property.
The abuse is in our face daily, but love is blind.
The famous line “You are with me or against me” is Donald Trump for Donald Trump.
If socialism is your fear then Trump is your man again. But also remember not so very long ago, Trump and his Republican party had been talking about how Social Security is a benefit that needs to be demolished.
Maybe for the younger generation that hasn’t paid into Social Security yet but for me, I’ve had my check deducted every payroll. That is my money.
Yes, love can be blind.
Kelley K. Sonognini
Kailua-Kona
Enforcement priorities
It amazes me how quickly the mayor sent his police force up to Maunakea but he refuses to have them enforce any COVID-19 restrictions at parks. Now look where we are. Was hoping health was a greater priority for Harry.
Derek Monell
Captain Cook
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