The HAT weblog is headed to the Valley Isle for a working vacation with Honorable Spouse Particular person and two in-laws. It’s been many months in planning (lodging and transportation secured in late 2020), and in all honesty, it’s a choice that comes with a substantial quantity of trepidation, even on the day earlier than the journey. We’ve reservations and now we have reservations.
After all, we’ve been monitoring the COVID-19 scenario in Hawaii in minute element since its onset a yr and a half in the past. It’s a part of the gig now within the Hawaii journey business, and a menacing and pervasive a part of life in Hawaii (and all over the place else on the earth) in September 2021. Here’s what we’ve performed to reduce our danger of an infection and of unwittingly transmitting the lethal COVID virus at residence on Oahu and through our Maui journey:
We bought vaccinated. We did it as quickly because the vaccine, in our case Pfizer, turned accessible. That was in April. We trusted the science behind the vaccine and the recommendation of our main healthcare supplier. It was a “no-brainer” for us. It actually wasn’t a political determination. I used to be an ideological determination in that Honorable Spouse Particular person and I discover not contracting or transmitting COVID to be supreme. Easy, actually.
We signed up with Aloha Safe Alert. It helps us monitor our potential publicity, which now we have for 18 months restricted by masking in public and avoiding giant gatherings. It’s been troublesome declining invites to gatherings with household and associates for thus lengthy. However we would like them to be secure, too. And we fairly frankly haven’t been invited to many. Everybody we all know and love can be attempting to restrict danger.
We signed up with the Hawaii SMART Card by the Hawaii Safe Travels program. It took 5 minutes to get our vaccination verified and obtain a QR code that grants us entre into no matter affected enterprise we select (in the event that they’ll have us!). With vaccine/testing necessities now in place for companies on Oahu and Maui, you’ll want a vaccine or adverse take a look at verification to do, nicely, just about something that entails commerce and different folks. It’s in my telephone. Piece of cake.
We talked with consultants. We picked HAT proprietor Aloha Bruce’s mind and tuned into the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast. “You’re vaccinated? Simply be wise and also you’ll be effective,” he mentioned, the identical response we obtained from a pal who works at Hawaiian Airways, which we’re flying. We additionally talked with associates on Maui when Hawaii case counts surged by the summer time.
“Ought to we cancel the journey?” we requested just a few associates who reside on the Valley Isle. All of them supplied the identical recommendation as Bruce. “You’re vaccinated? Don’t be silly, and also you’ll be effective. Name us once you get right here.” They aren’t Hawaii journey business consultants, however they’re “on the bottom”. They know what Maui is experiencing on this pandemic. None have any compunction about telling strolling well being hazards, family and friends even, to maintain away.
So, we’re kitted-up with KN95 facemasks and ample hand sanitizer. We’ve reviewed and permitted of the security measures carried out at our lodging and rental automotive firm. We haven’t but deliberate to dine out, however with vaccine/testing necessities in place for eating places and different companies, which will change. The plan is to don’t have any plan after 18 months of cautious consideration about our on a regular basis actions and interactions. We’re protected by the vaccine and put on the armor of frequent sense. Perhaps we’ll head Upcountry to go to with associates.
Full disclosure: this blogger will probably be completely completely happy to easily loll about on the seashore and eat sandwiches and drink chilly drinks for per week, avoiding as a lot non-family or non-friend human contact as attainable. However it’s a working trip, and weblog updates from Maui will probably be forthcoming. There are plenty of issues we’d love to do, to eat, to see. Keep secure and keep tuned!
Posted by: Jamie Winpenny
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