![]() By: Mya Starks Picture (left) by The Associated Press “One lie is enough to question all the truths.” -Anonymous A 24-year-old woman named Chloe Diana Mrozak attempted to use a counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine card when she travelled to Hawaii. All travelers to the state are required to provide proof of vaccination upon arrival. When Mrozak uploaded her vaccine card, airport screeners became suspicious because the name Moderna was spelled “Maderna,” and the card displayed that she received her vaccine in Delaware but she lives in the state of Illinois. The screening process went into further investigation with the Hawaii Attorney General and Delaware officials on Aug. 23, 2021. They had found that Mrozak's hotel was not informed of her reservation. Officials from the attorney general’s office confirmed that there wasn’t any record of Mrozak being vaccinated. Picture by Diego Aguilar-Trujillo
Mrozak was arrested when she arrived at the Honolulu Airport. She was arrested for violation of Hawaii’s state quarantine requirements. The State of Hawaii requires that visitors must be vaccinated to travel or must test negative for COVID-19 72 hours before arriving. They also require a 10-day quarantine for those who aren’t vaccinated or choose not to get tested for COVID-19. She was taken into custody, and her bail was set at $2,000. This is not the first case of counterfeit vaccine cards being used to travel. Mrozak’s arrest is one of the most recent cases in the news right now. Many others have been attempting to travel by creating their own fake vaccine cards or illegally purchasing them.
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By: Jayden Walker On August 26, 2021 a Category 2 hurricane developed in the Caribbean Sea. They called it Hurricane Ida. Its first landfall was in the Isle of Youth, off the southwestern end of the Caribbean Islands. It proceeded to head towards Cuba's capital, Havana, but the civilians had prior knowledge of the storm and were able to shelter themselves from any major damage. Ida then blew through Jamaica, leaving floods due to heavy rain around the entire country. Most roads were almost impossible to drive on, and some civilians had to abandon their homes. On August 28, 2021, the U.S President, Joe Biden, made a statement to his citizens warning them that Ida was heading straight for Louisiana. Biden recommended that they should evacuate then before it was too late. The next day, Ida made its arrival in New Orleans and killed all the power to start. Freeways were flooded and debris was everywhere. Hospitals were damaged and were running on generators for power. Over 2,000 civilians were cooped up in 41 shelters as of August 30. Pictures by CNN
Ida dealt major damage, costing a total amount 95 billions dollars in damage. This would make it the seventh costliest hurricane since 2000. Surprisingly, a total of only 26 people died due to the hurricane. Everything has calmed down since September started, and the southern states are now cleaning up to get things back in order. By: Mya Starks What if we can’t watch the sunset in paradise? Ever since July 4, Hawaii has had a large outburst of infections. Within the last two weeks, 9,952 new cases have been reported. The average daily case number went from 50 to 700. Recently, the state has had the highest number of cases it’s had throughout the entire pandemic. Hospitals are filled with an overload of patients, and there aren’t any more ICU beds. Nurses are beginning to become overworked. There are 3,288 active hospitalizations and a death toll of 573. It will only get worse from here as the positivity rate is now 8.3 percent. It’s been advised not to travel to the island according to the authorities. The spread of the Delta variant is rapidly increasing between tourists and residents. Picture by Audrey Mcavoy
The official lieutenant governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, is considering to “hit the pause button on travel to Hawaii until October.” However, the problem with “hitting the pause button” is that the CDC and FDA have informed him with suggestions that tourists can safely travel if they’re fully vaccinated. About 62 percent of the adult population in Hawaii is fully vaccinated, and 87 percent have had their first dose. This situation is leading to legal challenges with the state and the health officials. Choosing to keep tourists away will have a devastating effect on the tourist-dependent economy. Throughout the pandemic, Hawaii has already suffered a drastic unemployment rate. But for now, the governor has renewed the policies for capacity restraints for indoor facilities. Restaurants and gyms are allowed to occupy 50 percent capacity but big events and venues are shut down. 831 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported on Thursday, Aug. 26, 511 cases in Oahu, 176 in Hawaii Island, 102 in Maui, 32 in Kauai, 2 in Molokai, and 1 in Lanai. Fortunately, additional deaths have not occurred. |
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