21 News Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Hawaii: Update by Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center

21 new positive cases of COVID-19 were reported by DOH Saturday. Most of those cases were from Hawai‘i County – where there was a cluster of COVID-19 cases among the McDonald’s restaurants in Kailua-Kona (see update below). There are also new cases on O‘ahu and Maui.

 LABORATORY* TESTING DATA

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting

34 test results were inconclusive.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, April 18, 2020

** Refers to positive cases that have an unknown county of diagnosis at the time of this report. As more information becomes available for these cases, they are assigned to the proper County of Diagnosis. A negative number indicates the number of previously unknown cases that have now been assigned to a county.

Update on Kona Restaurant Cases

The Department of Health reports there have been a total of 29 confirmed cases associated with the cluster among the two McDonald’s restaurants in Kailua-Kona that now includes a total of 17 employees and 12 household members. DOH is conducting contact tracing for new cases and continuing to monitor employees and family members, all of whom are in isolation or quarantine. Both restaurants (at Kona Commons and at Walmart in Kailua-Kona) remain closed.

It is critical that the community continues to be vigilant with practicing social distancing policies and preventive measures such as staying at home when sick, avoiding others that are sick, washing hands, sneezing and coughing etiquette and wearing a cloth face mask per Governor Ige’s fifth supplemental  proclamation.

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority:

486 Passengers Arrive on Friday

Yesterday, 486 passengers arrived in Hawai‘i, including 98 visitors and 184 residents. In comparison, 30,000 people arrived daily during this time last year. This table shows the number of people who arrived by air from out of state yesterday and does not include interisland travel.

Department of Public Safety:

Hawai‘i Paroling Authority Procedural Update

To assist in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure the safety of the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority (HPA) staff and those who visit HPA’s offices statewide, the following safety protocols have been put into place: Entry into HPA offices will be by appointment only and will only be scheduled for essential issues that must be done in person. Those tentatively approved for appointment will be subject to on-site health screenings and will need to wear masks. Lastly, visitors will be escorted by HPA staff and be required to remain in the conference room for the duration of the visit. Anyone who doesn’t comply with the protocols will be denied access.

Jail Population Report

From March 2 to Apr. 17 there was a 619-person decrease in Hawai‘i’s jail population. This is due to the efforts by the State Judiciary, county police departments, and PSD’s Intake Service Division as they work to limit the number of people requiring admittance into the jails.

Inmate Population Relief Efforts

The Department of Public Safety is following the petition from the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court requesting release of certain inmates due to concerns of possible spread of COVID-19 to the prisons and jails. On Wednesday, Apr. 15, the Supreme Court issued an interim order, requesting a list of select probation and pre-trial inmates for court-considered release which will have to be turned in by Apr. 20. From there, prosecutors will have three days to submit motions to object, then the courts will determine by Apr. 28 who may be considered for release.

Inmate Mask-Sewing Production Grows

Inmates in the sewing program are sewing thousands of cloth face coverings for Public Safety Department staff, inmates and other state agencies as a way to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, and to give back something to the community. This sewing project began on Apr. 1 at the Waiawa Correctional Facility (WCF) and Kulani Correctional Facility (KCF), with the assistance of the Hawai‘i Correctional Industries (HCI) which supplied the fabric, sewing supplies and sewing machines for the inmates. The program expanded on Wednesday and now includes a work line at the Hawai‘i Community Correctional Center (HCCC). Work lines that were sewing 600-700 masks a day last week are now producing 2,000 masks per day. By Apr. 30, HCI expects to manufacture as many as 6,000 masks a day. The masks are being rolled out to divisions within the Public Safety Department, then will eventually go to other state agencies and the general public.

Hawai‘i House of Representatives:

House Select Committee to Discuss Public Health Plan to Restart Economy

The Hawai‘i House of Representatives Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness will hold another meeting on Monday, Apr. 20, at 10 a.m. The committee will move from research and planning for Hawai‘i’s economic recovery post-COVID-19 and focus on implementing those plans. The committee will hear presentations by Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association President & CEO Dr. Mark Mugiishi, and Alan Oshima who is heading Governor David Ige’s Hawaiʻi Economic and Community Recovery & Resiliency Plan. The briefing will be held via community television and online, and no in-person testimony will be accepted. You can watch the meeting on ‘Olelo Channel 49 or on the House webcast page.

https://olelo.org/ or http://olelo.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=31

Hawai‘i State Judiciary:

Judiciary Postpones Trials Until End of May

The Hawai‘i State Judiciary has postponed trials in civil, criminal, and family courts until May 29, 2020 or whenever Gov. Ige’s state of emergency ends – whichever is sooner. That’s at the order of Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald. He also ordered the formation of the Committee on Operational Solutions, a group formed to accelerate the courts’ capabilities to conduct court proceedings remotely during the COVID-19 crisis. Chief Justice Recktenwald said, “While our community has responded well to stay-at-home orders and the results of these public health measures have been encouraging, the Judiciary must continue to do our part to protect the health and safety of our court personnel and court users. However, we recognize the importance of addressing as many cases as possible, either by teleconferencing or videoconferencing, as appropriate. We formed the Committee on Operational Solutions in order to devote resources to significantly increasing the Judiciary’s technological capabilities in a swift and systematic fashion.”

https://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/2020/04/judiciary-postpones-trials-until-end-of-may