Off the News: No Eddie tournament this year

Fans of the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational know it’s customary for Waimea Bay to call the day for the legendary surfing competition. But this year, Clyde Aikau, of the Eddie Aikau Foundation and the Eddie Aikau Family LLC, said on Monday “the pandemic made the call for us,” due in part to physical-distancing challenges.

The last time the waves lined up an Eddie swell — waves hitting the 20-plus-foot range for an eight-hour period — the 2016 event attracted a beachfront crowd of many thousand spectators. This season’s safety-minded cancellation was the right call.

200,000 and counting

The nation reached a grim milestone Tuesday: 200,000 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic, the most in the world (although some other countries have higher deaths per capita). It’s far more than was expected. In April, Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted about 60,000 over the course of the pandemic.

It’s worrisome that going into winter — which on the mainland means more time indoors — we still lack a vaccine or effective treatments against COVID-19. And since Hawaii plans to ease the tourism quarantine soon, we can expect some coronavirus refugees. So double down on your armor: masks, physical distancing and frequent hand-washing. We’re still in the middle of this thing.