Testing problem
I’m so thrilled to see the state opening back up.
However … trusted partners such as Walgreens and CVS will not allow you to schedule a test for pre-travel. I have been trying to do this since Monday and told no.
Ann Ziller
Cottonwood, Ariz.
Safe travel tips
As a retired infection control expert, I would like to share a few ideas to improve air travel safety.
On Sept. 29, I returned to Hawaii from a trip to California where my mother died. While on the plane, I observed a man sitting across from me who slept for two hours without a mask.
Nothing was done.
I heard coughing and sneezing on occasion.
There were three unoccupied rows of seats set aside for an extra fee. Meanwhile, travelers were not spaced even 2 feet apart below and above that vacant section of the plane.
After deplaning at Kona International Airport, I was greeted by a Hawaii representative who expected me to touch a contaminated stylus and sign on an iPad. There was no disinfecting protocol between passengers for the stylus.
Not all passengers were standing 6 feet apart in line, and there was no temperature-taking.
Unless required to do otherwise, the airlines are going to cram people into seats without regard to spacing, and they are not going to consistently enforce the wearing of masks.
People are going to travel as they always have even when feeling unwell. Hawaii needs to take temperatures of all arriving passengers, as some might have taken Tylenol prior to boarding the plane.
So, what can you do in such an unregulated environment?
First and foremost, wear your mask.
Second, carry wipes with a 60-second contact time for killing coronavirus and other infectious agents. Most alcohol wipes used on plane surfaces do not stay wet long enough to kill coronavirus. So, bring your own wipes on the plane and make sure they wet the surface long enough to kill flu and coronavirus.
Refuse to touch any contaminated surface without a barrier (e.g. glove). Stay 6 feet away from others while standing in line.
Renee Joy Dufaul
Naalehu