As U.S. COVID-19 cases continue to spring upward, here in Hawai’i, you would never know that there is a potentially deadly virus gripping the globe.

Over the last week, I’ve watched as officials urge to limit gatherings to 100…50…now 10 people. We’ve listened as they’ve instructed us to practice ‘social distancing’ and avoid going out. The news continues to churn out reports of major cities, counties, states, and even entire countries going on lockdown. I have begun to hear the first whispers of storefronts closing here on Maui. Each night I have gone to bed expecting tomorrow to be the day everything hits the fan in Hawai’i.

But each day as I arrive in Pā’ia Town for work, there are dozens of tourists wandering the street, piling into Pā’ia restaurants, bunching up at the stoplight waiting to cross Hāna Highway, wandering into shops and restaurants in packs. County parks are closed, but that hasn’t stopped the daily wave of visitors from flowing into the rural east Maui town of Hāna. Even though the only confirmed cases on Maui have come from visitors staying at bustling resorts, tourists continue to join the other guests and gather around their hotel pool.

Because apparently, ‘social distancing’ doesn’t apply to those on vacation, and the $190 round trip flights from the West Coast aren’t helping the situation.

Here’s the thing: Hawai’i is dealing with a very complicated catch-22. On one hand, tourism is the lifeblood of the Hawaiian economy. Upwards of 200,000 jobs rely on the tourism machine- including my mom, my boyfriend, my best friend, and myself. Cutting off the flow of visitors would be detrimental to a lot of people. However, a COVID-19 spread in the state would be arguably even worse.

Hawai’i has one of the greatest concentrations of multi-generational families living together under one roof. It’s not uncommon for Hawai’i residents to share a house with their children, their parents, and their grandparents. With so many visitors continuing to visit Hawai’i, combined with the number of people who work in the visitor industry, it is only a matter of time before we see it begin to spread through our homes and into our community. And when that happens, it is going to be very, very bad.

On Maui, we only have one small hospital that is already experiencing a physician shortage. If an outbreak begins, we simply would not have the resources to deal with it. Not to mention, the rural community and popular visitor destination of Hāna in East Maui is about a two-hour drive from the hospital, and medical resources in the area are limited.

Across the United States, cities are on lockdown. But as of today, it’s business as usual here in Hawai’i. Our beaches are packed with tourists, our towns are bustling, tour operations are in full swing, only helping to facilitate the spread of the virus. Social media is flooded with posts from visitors about taking advantage of cheap flights and discounted hotels, people bragging about how they took their ‘work from home’ orders as a reason to take a vacation. Of course, these same people are trying to justify it by telling themselves they’re helping our economy. And honestly, it’s disgusting.

At this point, we would rather see our economy temporarily plunge than put our people at risk, put our kūpuna in danger, and stretch our medical services too thin. If we close up shop and stay inside for two weeks and nothing happens, that means we’ve done our job well.

As I write this from my home in Haʻikū, I continue to hear planes passing overhead- and it makes my blood boil. I am not alone in feeling this way, many residents are exasperated and at a loss for the number of visitors who continue to selfishly travel here, and angry at the Hawaiian government for recklessly continuing to let this happen. I have heard rumblings of plans to organize people to drive around the airport with signs taped to their cars urging people to go home. I even feel like standing on the corner of Airport Access Road holding a sign to let every visitor taking advantage of this grave situation know that they are not welcome. But instead, I chose to stay home and write this article. Because ultimately, it’s not about me. I’m young and healthy, but I wouldn’t know what I would do with myself if I passed COVID-19 onto someone who is not.

And you should feel the same way.