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Last year we were told that if we must celebrate the Fourth of July we should limit contacts to within our close familial pods.
Though restrictions have loosened this year, most events across the island are either sold out or once again on hold due to COVID-19. Hunkering down with close family and friends may be the only choice we have.
Remember pods? How about daily reminders to wash our hands vigorously for 30 seconds whenever we strayed within six feet of somebody? If one mask was good, two with a visor had to be better, right? A year and four months into the pandemic, some guidelines have quietly gone by the wayside and some remain as important as when the novel coronavirus loomed like a plot device for a dystopian science fiction movie.
A sad truth for Maui's unvaccinated is they have a greater chance of contracting the disease this July 4th than last. COVID was virtually nonexistent on the island last July. Thanks to an abundance of caution by state and county leaders, our low infection rate was the envy of the world. Now, even though more-powerful variants circulate in island communities and Maui is averaging about five new cases a day, we have learned to cope with the threat.
In July 2020 we would have done cartwheels at the thought that three safe and effective vaccines would be widely available by this Fourth. To have 50 percent of Maui's population inoculated would have sounded too good to be true. Now vaccines are almost old news. You have either had your poke and moved on, or are tired of explaining why you skipped the chance.
Not to point fingers, but if everybody would just listen to the science and get a free jab, there would be more things to do this weekend. The 4th of July Makawao Stampede at Oskie Rice Arena in Makawao is happening, but due to social distancing guidelines all three days of the newly named rodeo at the newly built arena are sold out. Live action can be viewed on AKAKU Maui Community Media (Spectrum channel 54). This newspaper will also provide coverage.
If the annual Lahaina town fireworks show were happening, maybe folks wouldn't feel pressure to spend so much of their hard-earned cash on giant boxes of fountains and sparklers to set off at home. Turning neighborhood streets into blazing conflagrations during a drought seems dangerously counterintuitive. We'd say it was a lot like letting kids play with matches, but actually, they'll all be running around with their own Bic lighters!
Happy Independence Day, here's wishing you and yours a wonderful weekend. We may not be totally free of the pandemic, but its grip is weakening. Be safe, take care of each other and, please, do not drink and drive.