Aggressive COVID-19 Tracing Identifies More Cluster Cases

Hawaii Daily COVID-19 update of coronavirus reports and statistics from government departments as of Tuesday, June 30, 2020 in the Aloha State. Aggressive COVID-19 tracing by the Department of Health is leading to the identification of additional COVID-19 cases associated with known clusters.

Department of Health:

18 Additional COVID-19 Cases Associated with Previous Clusters

Today, DOH reports 14 Hawai‘i residents, three (3) non-residents, and one person of unknown residency are the 18 new cases of coronavirus. 16 of the cases are in adults and two (2) are pediatric cases. These additional cases were revealed as a result of the aggressive COVID-19 tracing conducted by the DOH.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, June 30, 2020

* Includes cases that meet isolation release criteria.  ++As a result of updated testing information, one case

from O‘ahu was removed from the counts.

Laboratory* Testing Data

There were 1,315 additional COVID-19 tests reported via electronic laboratory reporting

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting  **16 test results were inconclusive

Hawaiicovid19.com

For more tables, charts and visualizations visit the DOH Disease Outbreak Control Division

https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/what-you-should-know/current-situation-in-hawaii

Analysis Shows Hawai‘i is Among Top States for Testing to Suppress Outbreak

A new analysis conducted by Harvard researchers for National Public Radio (NPR) shows Hawai‘i is among four states that is doing enough testing to suppress the COVID-19 outbreak. Suppression means greatly reducing new infections and keeping them low enough to safely open public life again. In order for testing to be effective, communities must have enough health workers to trace contacts, following up with people who test positive as well as their contacts, and help them quarantine so they don’t spread infection. The analysis showed, “Hawai‘i, Alaska, Montana, and Vermont do enough aggressive and consistent testing of high-risk individuals to allow communities to clamp down on emerging cases faster; thus, suppressing the outbreak.” The analysis also shows in order for states to meet “suppression” standards, Hawai‘i needs to do 330 tests per day. The State far surpasses that number with an average of 1,206 tests per day. To view more of the results:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/30/883703403/as-coronavirus-surges-how-much-testing-does-your-state-need-to-subdue-the-virus

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority:

1,750 Passengers Arrive on Monday

Yesterday, a total of 1,750 people arrived in Hawai‘i including 479 visitors and 503 returning residents. There was a total of 17 arriving flights. This table shows the number of people who arrived by air from out of state yesterday but does not show interisland travel.

AIRPORT ARRIVALS FOR MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2020

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/4837/063020-passenger-count-press-release.pdf

Office of Hawaiian Affairs:

OHA, DHS Collaborate on Native Hawaiian Data Related to COVID-19

OHA is getting a better look at how COVID-19 has impacted Native Hawaiians. The organization announced Friday a collaboration where DHS would share its Native Hawaiian data tables from its programs with OHA to help assess the impacts COVID-19 is having on Hawai‘i’s indigenous population. Some of the data DHS has agreed to share include; Medicaid, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, childcare subsidies, and more. The data is from January 2019 to December 2020. OHA CEO Sylvia Hussey said, “The data they are providing is critical for us, the state and our community partners to understand the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 on our beneficiaries. This information will help ensure that state and community resources can be targeted in the most efficient way to meet the needs of Native Hawaiians. We look forward to working with other state departments to reach similar agreements to share Native Hawaiian-specific data.” DHS Director Pankaj Bhanot said, “We are honored to share this vital data with OHA. Through this community partnership, we continue to support the self-sufficiency and well-being of Native Hawaiian individuals, families, and communities throughout the state of Hawaiʻi.”

The goal of the collaboration is not only to gather and provide data that explore the ways Native Hawaiians have been impacted by the pandemic, but also the systemic conditions that place our communities at greater risk and inform pathways for moving forward to create a new normal. To read more about the collaboration:

https://www.oha.org/news/oha-and-the-state-department-of-human-services-collaborate-on-native-hawaiian-data-related-to-covid-19/

Department of the Attorney General:

Two Returning Residents Arrested for Quarantine Violations

A Kaneohe man and a Mililani man are the latest people to be arrested by Special Agents from the Dept. of the Attorney General Investigations Division for violating the state’s current mandatory traveler quarantine.

61-year-old Michael J. “Kilomana” Danner of Kaneohe was first arrested on June 18 by deputy sheriffs from the Dept. of Public Safety at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport for refusing to complete the mandatory travel form and the order for self-quarantine.

AG investigators say Danner then began posting on social media that he was going to defy the State’s quarantine laws and was not going to abide by them. They say he also posted his activities on his wife’s social media site.  The Special Agents served Danner twice with orders restricting him to stay in quarantine at his residence and say he continued to post his defiance.

Yesterday, Special Agents followed him to the home of an elderly woman where he had been doing carpentry work for several days. The woman, who said she is in a high-risk category, was incensed upon learning Danner was being arrested for quarantine violation. His bail was set at $2,000.

29-year-old Darrel A.S. Ramirez of Mililani was arrested after Special Agents made quarantine checks on returning residents and arriving visitors. On June 26 an investigator checked on him and found that he was at a park with his son. He turned himself in that same day, was arrested, booked and charged. His bail was also set at $2,000.

Special Agents from the AG’s Investigations Division have arrested a total of 21 returning residents or visitors since the imposition of the mandatory traveler quarantine. Even after August 1, the state will strictly enforce the 14-day traveler quarantine on anyone who does not meet the state’s testing requirements.

https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/name-correction-hawaii-covid-19-joint-information-center-june-30-2020/

Department of Land and Natural Resources:

COVID-19 Rules for Commercial & Recreational Boats Relaxed

The State of Hawaiʻi, through the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), with the concurrence of the Counties of Hawai‘i, Maui, Kauai, and of the City and County of Honolulu, is lifting certain COVID-19 emergency restrictions imposed on larger commercial and recreational boating, and on ocean recreation.

DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood said, “This change in rules is effective immediately and allows commercial and recreational boats, with a rated U.S. Coast Guard capacity of more than ten, to not exceed their rated capacity by no more than 50 percent, provided they operating under the Boating and Ocean Recreation COVID-19 guidelines.

https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dobor/covid-19-dobor-response/

Previous Hawaii Daily COVID-19 information.

#rebuildingtravel