Fiji just came out of another lock down. Kadavu literally just came out of theirs. It was pretty bad on Viti Levu apparently.
Here's the link Kava Covid
Here's the link Kava Covid
News Article Kava blamed for outbreak spread in Fiji
- Thread starter Artofkava
- Start date
Drinking Kava the traditional way involves a lot of sharing cups & also having to pass each others cups around so there is a lot of people touching each others cups. This is definitely the case when it comes to getting Covid while drinking Kava. But you CAN'T blame the grog!
The Kava clubs out here stopped using shells and started using plastic cups during Kava sessions since the pandemic started so no one could try & blame the Kava itself for getting Covid.
Zaphod
Kava Lover
To be fair it is the social aspect of kava, not kava itself that is to blame. Banning the social aspect is no more severe than shutting down bars and restaurants in the US....we love our booze. For the most part we are a society of alcoholics (just some are more functional than others).
kasa_balavu
Yaqona Dina
While the language is kind of loose, nobody really blames the drink itself. Yaqona is almost always drunk socially here.
This has become a problem because people have been ignoring government guidance (and recently the new laws about gatherings) in order to get together so they can drink yaqona.
In this short video you see the Permanent Secretary for Health (the highest ranking civil servant in Fiji's Health Department) Dr. James Fong. He's sounding a warning... "don't make me recommend the banning of grog [to Cabinet]". He wants people to drink it by themselves or with their families (or household bubble).
The ban they're threatening would only be for the duration of the current covid wave.
View attachment bangrog.mp4
This has become a problem because people have been ignoring government guidance (and recently the new laws about gatherings) in order to get together so they can drink yaqona.
In this short video you see the Permanent Secretary for Health (the highest ranking civil servant in Fiji's Health Department) Dr. James Fong. He's sounding a warning... "don't make me recommend the banning of grog [to Cabinet]". He wants people to drink it by themselves or with their families (or household bubble).
The ban they're threatening would only be for the duration of the current covid wave.
View attachment bangrog.mp4
kasa_balavu
Yaqona Dina
Nah, the export and domestic markets have different supply chains. Further, farmers are rarely forced to harvest their kava. Most will just leave it in the ground until demand recovers.
Interesting, Thanks for the opinion! It'll be very interesting to see if anything comes from it either way.
Manuel Joao
Newbie
Wash your hands with liquor, drink kava
Jacob Bula
Nobody
I've finally seen in writing, what I've been thinking for a while. Just because most of the country drinks to excess, doesn't mean its not a problem. It's just normalized, culturally acceptable drug abuse.
kasa_balavu
Yaqona Dina
There was an interesting discussion about just this topic (and the 2 glasses per day that's considered moderate) yesterday on HN: Cancer risks increase with alcohol use, leading to over 740k cases last year