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Looking back on the last three years, the COVID-19 pandemic seems like an unsettling dream.
Did all that crazy stuff really happen? Were there really masked police officers patrolling the beaches on all-terrain vehicles to make sure nobody was sitting still? Did Maui really have huge protests against government safety protocols? School closures, travel bans, mandatory quarantines, our hospital nearing capacity, memorials for fallen community members -- there were a lot of things to wrap our heads around.
The nightmare officially came to a close with the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration on May 11, but we knew the pandemic was pau when the island's annual events finally returned in earnest. This weekend, we have the Makawao Parade and Makawao Stampede Fest Country Concert at Oskie Rice Event Center. There are also outrigger canoe races, youth baseball tournaments and who knows how many more events and family parties.
Last month, we covered high school and college graduations in front of packed crowds. The Maui Brewers Festival returned after a three-year hiatus. Other community favorites like Maui Matsuri have ramped up to pre-pandemic levels.
Hugs and handshakes are back. Keeping to family pods and standing 6 feet apart are out. It feels great. Which has this cynical journalist casting a wary eye for that old devil, irony. We've seen it too many times. Someone gets cocky and lets up on the gas or lowers their guard. All of a sudden, pow, they're knocked flat.
The fact is, the disease is still the third leading cause of death in America. It is evolving and circulating among us and will be for a long time. For most folks, especially those who have been immunized and boosted, COVID will likely be no worse than a cold or mild case of the flu.
Not everyone is so lucky. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 6.18 million hospitalizations in the United States due to COVID-19 and 1.13 million deaths. Many of those victims had other health issues that made them more susceptible. Some of those who were laid low, however, were young and healthy.
According to the CDC, the lingering symptoms of long COVID are most common in people who endured severe cases of the disease. Some who suffer for months and years never tested positive or had symptoms.
Nobody likes when doctors deliver this kind of party-pooping news. Even writing it makes us cringe, but that's part of the job for health officials and journalists. We let people know the risks and they decide how to use the information. Admittedly, if 99 percent of Americans avoided a COVID-19 diagnosis last week, it is our nature to point out the 1 percent who fell ill.
That's another way COVID-19 resembles a bad dream. Nobody wants to hear about it.