Question: Do I have to get a TB test to volunteer serving food at a community event or, later this year, at a booth at my child’s school fair? I never did before, but a friend told me the rules have changed. The food is for sale but we booth “workers” aren’t paid.
Answer: No. As long as these are short events, you’d be exempt from the TB clearance requirement as a temporary food handler.
Hawaii Administrative Rules regarding tuberculosis did change as of March, but the updates mainly affect the type of TB screening that is required, for example, a skin test versus a health survey, depending on the specific circumstances.
Food workers generally must be cleared, but there’s still an exemption for people like you, who are “engaged in food handling only at carnivals, fairs or other temporary activities lasting less than 15 days,” according to HAR 11-164.2-25(b), which you can read at 808ne.ws/tbrule.
Otherwise, food handlers, including flight attendants and bartenders, must present a TB clearance obtained after age 16 or within 12 months prior to the job’s start date. They must present the clearance to the employer before starting work.
TB, a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs, is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria get into the air when a person with TB coughs, sneezes or shouts, for example. Most people who catch TB get it from someone with whom they are in close contact, such as a family member, friend or co-worker, not from a stranger coughing in a restaurant or on a bus, according to the state Department of Health.
Q: Will the Schofield fireworks be open to the public again this year? It was nice that they opened them back up.
A: Yes. Fourth of July festivities at Schofield Barracks’ Weyand Field are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the fireworks set to begin at 8:40 p.m. The day’s entertainment and activities are to include food, drink, rides, games and live music. You can read the details at 808ne.ws/sb4.
Visitors without a military ID should enter the Wahiawa base through Foote Gate on Foote Avenue. From there they will be directed to park on Watts Field. All drivers and passengers 16 and older must present a valid state or federal government ID, and the driver also must provide a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration, proof of insurance and safety check.
All coolers, backpacks and bags are subject to inspection while on the military installation. No glass is allowed. No pets are allowed.
Auwe
Auwe to the motorist in a gray sedan who raced past while other vehicles slowed for a yellow light, changing lanes erratically to charge through the signal — now bright red. You disregarded a car that had exited the highway and was turning left. That car had the green light, and almost hit you because you came out of nowhere and should not have been in the intersection. We both caught up with you a few minutes later, at the next red light. All that dangerous rushing for nothing. — Fellow driver
Mahalo
Mahalo to the Mililani couple who pick up trash on their morning walk. I appreciate what they are doing. Our neighborhood looks better because of them. This is near Mililani District Park. — Grateful reader
Mahalo
I would like to acknowledge the wonderful event that is the Friends of the Library of Hawaii Annual Booksale at McKinley High School. The tireless efforts of Executive Director Nainoa Mau, his staff and the army of volunteers make this, in my opinion, the cultural and literary event of the year for the past 71 years. I’m pleased that the printed word remains the reading choice of so many of us. Mahalo to all who helped out this year — J Marc Rosen, Kaneohe
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
