I read Donald Wyand’s letter about the media “sensationalizing” the COVID-19 virus threat, and felt the need to respond (“Media sensationalizing COVID-19 virus threat,” Star-Advertiser, March 6).

The facts are these:

>> There is no vaccine for this strain of the virus and one won’t be available for several months.

>> The mortality rate is higher for the COVID-19 virus than for the seasonal flu — reportedly as much as 20 times higher.

>> The elderly aren’t the only victims who die from this virus. Has Wyand forgotten the doctor in Wuhan, China, who was the early whistleblower? He was in his 40s. He looked like a normal healthy man. Yet he died from this.

Those are the things that I find most frightening about this virus. It’s not “merely a very unpleasant new virus” with a “relatively low mortality rate.” Get your facts right, Mr. Wyand. I hope you and your loved ones do not come down with this. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Carole Amrhein

Mililani

Government must look into cruise ship risk

All the news seems to focus on the airlines’ attempts to contain the spread of COVID-19 by screening passengers and sanitizing. I am lucky enough to have a splendid view of Honolulu Harbor and can observe whales spuming and breaching. I can also observe with increasing alarm the constant stream of cruise ships docking here. I wonder if the cruise companies are screening their passengers before sending them on their merry way to enjoy our beautiful islands.

I believe our government should address this issue now, as we have a Trojan-Horse scenario on our hands.

Sid Chang

Punchbowl

Don’t ban cruise ships; wash your hands instead

It would be a huge overreaction to ban cruise ships from Hawaii. Should all airline flights be banned? No.

To give the public some more perspective, the news media should publish how many people are sick or die from influenza, pneumonia and all contagious diseases — dangers we face every year. People have control over taking care of themselves and dependents: Wash your hands, follow the precautions suggested by knowledgeable authorities, wash your hands again.

Michelle Baie

Downtown Honolulu

Work together to learn how to protect ourselves

Regarding the article, “Hawaii officials urge preparing 14-day emergency kit in case of coronavirus outbreak” (Star-Advertiser, Feb. 26), I believe that we shouldn’t just have an emergency kit. Having food, water and first-aid supplies won’t be enough. We should be educated on how to take care of ourselves and should all start preparing to be able to handle the coronavirus.

As Daniel K. Inouye International Airport is one airport that flights from China will arrive, we should be prepared for the inevitable. We need to have the proper lessons on how to stop the spread and the proper precautions to take in certain cases, such as in public places.

We should all work together to educate the public on the deadliness of the coronavirus.

Keanu Longboy

Pearl City

Gabbard becoming an embarrassment

“It was especially meaningful to my family and me to receive such strong support from voters in my place of birth,” U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard told ABC News. Results of America Samoa Caucus: Michael Bloomberg 175 votes, Gabbard 103 votes, with the remaining 73 votes to others. She argued that those two delegates (103 votes) give her the right to be on the next Democratic debate stage.

She has spent much of the election cycle on Fox News criticizing the Democratic Party.

A judge dismissed her $50 million lawsuit against Google. Because of unusual activity, the Google platform was shut down for six or seven hours. The judge ruled that it was not an infringement of Gabbard’s free speech.

Currently, she is pursuing another $50 million lawsuit against Hillary Clinton stating that comments were made to “destroy” her reputation.

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is becoming an embarrassment to our state.

Jim Wolfe

Nuuanu

Legislature considering more taxpayer burdens

The headline, “Lawmakers consider raising taxes on the rich” (Star-Advertiser, March 8), is an interesting take for a number of reasons.

Senate Bill 3124 would raise taxes for joint reporters with household income greater than $48,000 per year. I’m not sure how many full-time working households actually earn less, quite frankly.

House Bill 1990 would increase the general excise tax — and we all pay that. And Senate Bill 3150, with its carbon tax, surely will affect middle-class families. How many middle-class folks drive Teslas, exactly?

The tourism industry could slow down significantly for Hawaii due to the travel restrictions from coronavirus. Before this, we were already overstretched by the growing cost of the rail project, which was passed initially by using imaginary figures and costs.

I find it telling that our representatives are concerned more about paying for their bloated bureaucracy than lessening the financial burden on locals who live and work here.

Maybe they should take a pay cut? Maybe they should tighten their belt a little bit?

Michael Ronald

Hawaii Kai

Why is pregnancy considered an illness?

In her letter promoting expanded reproductive health-care access, Alani Bagcal praised Hawaii for being the first state in the nation to legalize abortion, but then admonishes that simply making it legal is not enough (“Expand reproductive health-care access,” Star-Advertiser, March 6).

Bagcal emphatically contended that being allowed that “privilege” is not enough; it must be legislatively made into a “right” through Senate Bill 2539, thereby guaranteeing the procedure for all people regardless of income, gender identity or type of insurance, and without co-pay, or presumably cost of any kind.

Without this “fundamental,” she claimed, we cannot be considered to have a “world where everyone gets the health care they need.”

When did pregnancy, the very process by which each one of us came into this world, and by which the human race will continue into the future, become considered an illness?

Jim Wolery

Kaneohe

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