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Maui coronavirus numbers indicating system failure

Come on, Mayor Vic. You’ve done such a good job holding the reins through most of this pandemic. When are you going to stop ignoring today’s reality?

While daily infection counts are on the decline in the state and throughout most of the country, Maui’s numbers now often exceed number of cases on Oahu (earlier this week 16 cases on Oahu, 24 on Maui) in spite of the fact Oahu has eight times the population of Maui.

As for attributing the spike to “community spread,” the virus has to make it to the island from somewhere before it can spread. And while the infection rate is at 1 percent for all the other islands, Maui’s rate is 2.7 percent. Granted, 20-plus cases a day may not seem like much, but 600 cases per month adds up quickly!

It’s really not too hard to see where to point the finger. For the two months prior to Oct. 15 when pre-tested visitors were once again welcomed to the island, daily cases on Maui averaged slightly over one. Current numbers, then, represent a gradual increase of about 2,000 percent. The system is failing somewhere.

Michael Blaz

Kihei

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