LIHU‘E — Small business owner Sarah Schroeder has felt the attrition of the coronavirus.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Schroeder said she is unable to do her job as she travels and sells beauty products to online customers and physical markets in a business she owns called Sarah’s Scrubs and Sweets.
Schroeder was one of the estimated 25 protesters challenging the latest restrictions imposed by Gov. David Ige and Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami to prevent the spread of COVID-19. She was marching around the Historic County Building in Lihuʻe Saturday morning, believing the county and state have violated her constitutional rights.
“It is out of control, and it is such a government overreach,” Schroeder said. “If you don’t push back, then they’ll keep pushing you. The mayor is treating us like a bunch of 5-year-olds in timeout, and they won’t soften things up if we start complying.”
Levana Lomma, one of the event organizers of the protest that started as a Facebook group called Walk For Our Rights Kaua‘i, like Schroeder is suffering. She experienced the loss of her job as a hairstylist at Supercuts, and she is hoping the economy reopens soon.
“The measures being taken to protect us are completely against our constitutional rights, our basic human rights, and there is a reason to believe the data being used to determined the length of our quarantine is flawed,” Lomma said.
During Easter weekend, Lomma was walking on Kealia Beach with her daughter and was stopped by the authorities, she recalled.
“I was just at the beach enjoying the sunshine and getting some exercise, and the police officers told me, ‘you can’t be there unless you are exercising,’” Lomma said.
“I tried to talk to them about the police acting with a sense of mortality of what is right and what is wrong. It does not feel like the America or Hawai‘i that was built on a concept of freedom or aloha,” she said.
”It was not about having to do jumping jacks or leave the beach. I hate to make this reference, but it feels like Nazi Germany. We can’t travel without papers, or without being fined and enjoy our beach.’”
Many of the protesters were not wearing masks during their protest, which is mandated by Kaua‘i County to be worn by anyone over the age of 5 out in public.
One of the reasons for the restrictions in the size of the islands, health-care officials say.
“As a small island, we have been able to implement many measures to protect our community and to prevent the spread of the disease,” Dr. Janet Berreman said in a written statement.
“These include efforts such as the stay-at-home policy, evening curfew, mandatory cloth masks outside of the home, social distancing, and the quarantine for arriving travelers,” she said.
Berreman emphasized why it is so important to continue to follow the recommended guidelines. “It is essential that we all continue to practice the basic measures of wearing masks when we are out, minimizing our time in public and keeping a distance of 6 feet or more from others,” Berreman said.
“Wash hands frequently and avoid crowds or large gatherings. We can protect ourselves and our community by being attentive to these measures, every day and everywhere.”
Kaua‘i resident Amariah Raphael’s life has been significantly altered since the coronavirus outbreak started in the United States.
Raphael, who was laid off at his job as a massage therapist at Freedom Massage and Wellness in Kalaheo, claims he is now homeless because of the psychotic episode his roommate experienced from the “fear-mongering” of this virus.
Raphael fell into religion as an attempt to find a coping strategy for all of the changes he has experienced.
Raphael’s attempt to spread the word of God failed when he claimed he was chased off the beach by the Kaua‘i Police Department during Easter weekend at Kealia Beach.
The incident at the beach was Raphael’s catalyst to protest, believing the county violated his constitutional rights.
“We started with six people preaching the word of God. We were maintaining our distance and I was teaching them about psalm 91, but they broke up the meeting, presumably, because you can’t congregate,” Raphael said. “This is wrong, and it’s our constitutional right to freely assemble with no governor and no president to abridge the supreme constitutional law of the land.”
Raphael, formerly of Sedona, Arizona, was with about 25 residents to protest the recent restrictions the county and state implemented to protect people from COVID-19.
The group marched up and down Rice Street and walked around county offices, holding up various signs protesting federal, state and county restrictions.
According to World Health Organization statistics, recent numbers on Kaua‘i remain relatively low, with only 21 cases and no deaths.
“I am 110% on board, but we have to stand up now,” Raphael said. “The state can’t restrict our right to travel or assemble freely.”
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
