Globally

Globally, the numbers of weekly COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to decline. Over 3.3 million new cases and over 55 000 new deaths were reported during the week of 20 ? 26 September 2021, decreases of 10% as compared to the previous week for both cases and deaths. The largest decrease in new weekly cases was reported from the Eastern Mediterranean Region (17%), followed by the Western Pacific Region (15%), the Region of the Americas (14%), the African Region (12%) and the South-East Asia Region (10%); while weekly cases in the European Region were similar to the previous week. The cumulative number of confirmed cases reported globally is now over 231 million and the cumulative number of deaths is more than 4.7 million.

United States

Looking at the most recent data available on deaths from COVID-19 and other causes, we see that COVID-19 was the number 2 leading cause of death in the U.S. in September, 2021.

The number of daily deaths from COVID-19 had decreased remarkably from the once staggering 3,135 deaths per day in January, 2021, but started increasing again, in August, 2021, with the Delta variant wave. In September 2021, COVID-19 took the lives of 1,899 people per day on average. By comparison, heart disease, which is typically the number one cause of death in the U.S. each year, leads to the death of about 2,000 Americans per day, and cancer claims about 1,600 American lives per day, on average.

Hawai'i

There were 230 additional COVID-19 cases in Hawaii at the end of the month. The latest data represents a total of 5,388 active cases over two weeks. Maui County's seven day average of cases peaked at 57.6 per 100,000 on August 25, and has been on a steady decline since the beginning of September, dropping to 17.5 per 100,000 as we approached month's end.

Of today's (September 29th) 230 cases, there were 206 cases identified as confirmed, and 24 probable cases were added to the count. The confirmed cases included: 128 on O'ahu (+16 probable); 35 on Hawai'i Island (+2 probable); 13 on Maui (+5 probable); 13 on Kaua'i; one on Moloka'i (+1 probable); and 16 in Hawai'i residents diagnosed while out of state.

Hawai'i's COVID-19 deaths increased to 770, with 13 new deaths reported at the end of the month, including two on Maui, two on Hawai'i Island and nine on O'ahu.

Here on Maui, I observe probably half the tourists on the street wear masks (especially in Pa'ia); and everyone in the stores does, as is required by Maui's mayor. Business owners detest him because he has put the safety of Maui citizens ahead of their short-term profits. Consequently, whenever we have an anti-mask/anti-vaccine rally, they are attended entirely by privileged white people who assume they own the island because, you know, they should. And the only reason they aren't already dead of the disease is the fact that, thanks to the Mayor's wise decisions, Maui has come through this relatively unscathed.

Directions

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/2/2021		Page Views: 763
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Covidiots
Where I expect to go with this blog.
Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s) (376 words)

We have now passed the 18 month mark of global health crisis, if one assumes the pandemic started in March, 2020, with the shutdowns. (Of course, COVID-19 entered the wild much earlier than that; but it wasn't recognized as a serious threat until around March.) I've been using this blog space to describe, mostly, what moving to Maui has been like, since the disease hasn't previously affected the island too much. But that is changing. Plus, I've taken so many photos of the beaches and other sights here that they are starting to look alike. (The photos, not the beaches.) So I've ben trying to decide in what direction to take this blog.

Subspecies

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/2/2021		Page Views: 797
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Covidiots #HumanSubspecies
Why 60% of humanity cannot understand the other 40%.
Estimated reading time: 13 minute(s) (3051 words)

Most people, even if they paid little attention in high school biology, have a working understanding of the concept of species. That is, they understand that animals of two different species cannot mate, or at least, cannot mate and produce babies. Or, if somehow they do, the babies will not be able to have babies of their own (as is the case with the offspring of a horse and a donkey; we actually call all such infertile inter-species offspring "mules"). However, those who did pay attention know there's a lot more to it than that. And in those extra details you may find an explanation for the otherwise inexplicable behavior of the intentionally un-vaxxed "covidiots" so eagerly killing themselves for no good reason.

Islands

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/7/2021		Page Views: 816
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Covidiots #MauiAnastasiaIsland #Iceland
Most people long for a special island.
Estimated reading time: 6 minute(s) (1351 words)

I think we're drawn to islands, both geological and sociological, because they represent both freedom and security. In the wild, freedom is dangerous, because one never knows when an action might trigger an unexpected and deadly consequence. But in an enclosed environment, dangers are already known and one subconsciously avoids doing something that would likely be disastrous.

Papalaua By Jupiter

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/8/2021		Page Views: 804
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
Camping under an astrological event.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (154 words)

We rode to the "other side" to do a little Doordashing, and as usual spent the night car camping at Papalaua Beach. But this time the skies held something of interest.

Islands

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/9/2021		Page Views: 599
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
Ruminations on small pieces of Earth.
Estimated reading time: 6 minute(s) (1351 words)

It's dawn, and so beautiful here it makes my heart ache. We're at Papalaua Beach Park again, where we spent the night car camping, to be on this side of the island for an appointment with a dermatologist. But whenever I sit in my camp chair, listening to the crashing of nearby waves and watching the stars play hide-and-seek with puffy little clouds, I am overwhelmed with a mixture of awe, gratitude, and a dollop of pity that, of all the (surely) millions of people who would give their eye teeth to be right here where I am now, only Keith and I are.

Lilly and Ella At Home

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/11/2021		Page Views: 782
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui #Lilly #Ella
'It's a dog's life' doesn't have to be a bad thing.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (196 words)

So we've moved…sort of…from the shed on Lot D in which we were camping, to a smaller shed on Lot C where we'll also be camping, until our cottage is finally completed. I may have been worried that our dogs, Lilly and Ella, might find the move stressful or, at least, confusing. But I needn't have worried. Whether in one shed or another, or car camping, they seem to be home wherever we are, as long as we're together.

Hot Guys of Maui

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/15/2021		Page Views: 790
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
Not all of Maui's scenery is green.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (63 words)

So, with all the time we've been spending at the beach, we have, of course, been surrounded by sexy surfers and beary blue-collar workers. Sometimes I can't resist surreptitiously snapping a photo without anyone's being the wiser. Here are some of my favorites.

Lahaina Side

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/26/2021		Page Views: 807
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
A month's worth of postcards at once.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (151 words)

As regular readers know, my husband Keith and I have been Doordashing fairly regularly as a means of enhancing our income. A side effect of that is that we car camp on the West side of Maui in order to Doordash two days in a row without having to make the four-hour round trip to Hana. In any case, that means we spend a lot of time in very beautiful or intriguing spots. And I have a camera…

Koki Postcards

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/27/2021		Page Views: 808
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
Picture-perfect views of our favorite local beach.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (52 words)

When we are on West Maui we camp at Papalaua Beach Park. But when we are home on East Maui, we also like to spend time at the beach; and our favorite is Koki. I've posted lots of photos of this beautiful spot; these are the ones I've saved up this month.

September Cottage Progress

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/28/2021		Page Views: 794
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
That two-week job is taking over a month.
Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s) (262 words)

I have, of course, been taking photos each day (that I'm home) of the bamboo cottage that's been under construction for over a month. However, instead of posting them each day, I thought it would be more interesting to see them all together so comparisons can be made.

Farewell Lot D

By: Paul S Cilwa	Occurred: 9/29/2021		Page Views: 792
Hashtags: #Coronavirus #Maui
Today we lost half our land.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (132 words)

My daughter Jenny tells me she didn't really want to buy two lots here but the real estate agent "talked her into it". Well, she managed to have the last laugh by selling half of it. We're retaining Lot C but the sale of Lot D completes today, so we have to have cleared ourselves off of it by the end of the day.