State Senator J. Kalani English is retiring at the end of this week - citing issues caused from the long-term effects of COVID-19.
English - who represents East Maui, Molokai and Lanai - said he contracted the virus late last year while traveling outside the state with his family.
He says his symptoms were mild, but noticed ongoing memory issues and lack of energy after recovering.
At first, he believed he was suffering from depression - but was later diagnosed with the long-term effectws of the virus.
English likened his symptoms to the day after a hangover, saying it's enough to impair his ability to work.
"I also noticed that I couldn't do some very simple cognitive things," English said. "You know, like doing a series, if I had 10 folders and (sorting by) ABCD. I would get them mixed up. So that for me, that's when I noticed things were what it was. And in this job, you need to have a very sharp mind. You need to be able to process things very quickly. And I found that I was fatigued all the time."
English says he would like State Rep. Lynn DeCoite to by his successor for the remainder of his term.
Gov. David Ige will have 60 days to pick a replacement from a list of three candidates provided by the Democratic Party of Hawaii.
