There are many jokes out there on social media about the coronavirus featuring the popular beer of the same name. I once shared them and thought them funny. However, at this point, this virus must be taken seriously, and there is nothing funny about it.
Hawai‘i is a major tourist destination for Chinese and Japanese visitors and has been on high alert. Last week it was discovered that a Japanese national couple was visiting O‘ahu and Maui and upon returning to Japan both eventually contacted the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 and the Wuhan virus. They may have contacted it before leaving on their trip, since the virus has a 14-day incubation period.
This means the airplane, hotels, tourist destinations, restaurants, everywhere they went on vacation is susceptible to the virus. (Those poor housekeepers that made their beds.) Some people may be carriers, others not. With all the visitors from around the world traveling to Hawai‘i in the winter months, this is catastrophic.
Checking temperatures at the airport for arriving passengers does no good, since anybody can be carrying the virus with no symptoms for up to 14 days.
I’ve been a germaphobe for many years. I quit shaking hands with people, and prefer fist pumps or the Japanese custom of bowing. Be vigilant, wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when coughing, don’t touch your eyes or mouth and use a surgical mask if you’re not feeling well and must go out.
I travel on the bus and move my seat every time somebody next to me or behind me coughs or sneezes. I have noticed many employees in the supermarkets, big-box stores, and local restaurants coughing and clearing their throats. This makes me paranoid, and makes me wonder if we are heading towards a plague?
I believe our governor needs to be vigilant and ground all flights from Asian countries coming to and going from Hawai‘i until such time that there is a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus or the virus dissipates itself.
Some 66,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus, and 1,500 have died as of this writing so far from the COVID-19 virus. The internet is filled with jokes about the virus. Although not a joking matter, it helps many get through these trying times.
Then again, with all the natural disasters we have seen almost daily on the news, it would not surprise me to see a plague — since many believe we are living at the end of times, and biblical prophecy is finally coming to fruition.
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James “Kimo” Rosen is a resident of Kapa‘a.
Right on…Kimo!
Speaking of natural disasters, Kimo, what do you think of the one in the White House?
Man with coronavirus
seeking woman with Lyme disease
Pete, that is funny!
Have you gotten your flu shot? Most of the people making a big deal out of coronovirus haven’t and odds are more likely you will die from the flu than coronovirus
Kimo,
Great letter. I sent in today’s letter the day before your letter printed, so I did not know about it, but we seem to be on the same page, as usual.
Personally, I believe that the warnings about terrible things coming in Matthew 24 and Revelation were primarily about Judah and Jerusalem in 67-70 AD. Notice Matt. 24:34, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” The most common time frame for the word “generation” in the Bible is 40 years. Jesus spoke this warning 40 years before the destruction of Jerusalem happened. Jesus also gave them instructions on how to save themselves (Matt.24:17). It is sad that more people did not follow Jesus’s instructions to get out while you can. Besides being God’s Son on a mission to save the whole world, Jesus was also a Jewish Rabbi, whose first concern was for his own people.
The book of Revelation also connects to the destruction of Jerusalem. As just one example, Caesar Nero’s name in Hebrew is exactly the number 666 (each letter was a number in the days before Arabic numbers). The common dating of Revelation is around 95 AD, but this has very weak support. I think that, John (like Jesus) warned us about the destruction before it happened.
I believe those warnings are also useful for all generations that follow, especially, when the context is understood.
Regarding the end of times for this epoch, my own guess is that Jesus gave us a job to do in Matt. 28:18-20 and he is giving us the time we need to accomplish this great commission. When all the ethnic communities of the world have been given the good news of Jesus and taught to obey his instructions, then maybe the end might come. Meanwhile, the followers of Jesus have a job to do and we need more time to finish it.
As-Salaam-Alaikum
“since many believe we are living at the end of times, and biblical prophecy is finally coming to fruition.” These are probably the same folks who send money to televangelists so they can buy that new jet. You can’t fix stupid. Let scientists and those who have the proper educational training and experience do their jobs and we will emerge eventually, just like with the Ebola virus scare.