Corona Spreading on Oahu: A Reason for Concern?

Today, Hawaii saw a spike of 18 new COVID-19 coronavirus cases – 15 who live on Oahu, and another 3 on Oahu whose residences have not yet been identified. Said the State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park in response to corona spreading on Oahu, this was expected “as people begin to move around more freely and more businesses are reopening.” She said most of he cases they are seeing are from “community-associated infection.” From the recent cases, just a handful were from “travel-associated infection.”

Hawaii Daily COVID-19 update coronavirus reports and statistics from government departments as of Tuesday, June 2, 2020 in the Aloha State follow.

Governor’s Office:

Governor, County Mayors Answer Questions on Facebook Live

Gov. Ige was joined by all four county mayors during today’s Community Connection session to discuss how reopening businesses has been going and answering questions from residents. The governor noted the increase in cases Hawai‘i has seen, including Thursday’s count of 18 positive cases. However, Gov. Ige said the state has been anticipating the increase in cases as the economy reopens, and he reassured everyone that the DOH has increased capacity for testing and contact tracing. The state leaders also discussed how COVID-19 has changed the ways in which Hawai‘i conducts business. Both Derek Kawakami of Kaua‘i County and Mike Victorino of Maui County pointed out the counties have been able to adapt to doing more online work and conducting fewer in-person meetings. Mayor Victorino said, “It’s changing and it’s the new normal we need to look at.” All mayors are also looking at when to reopen DMVs so there won’t be major backlogs, though most agreed physical distancing will be a challenge.

This is the second Facebook Live, Gov. Ige and all four county mayors have participated in as part of a “Community Connection” feature that the governor hosts on his Facebook page. Numerous leaders across the state participate to keep people informed during the pandemic. https://www.facebook.com/GovernorDavidIge/

Department of Health:

New Case Count of 18 Additional

DOH reports a total of 18 additional cases of COVID-19 today, with all of them diagnosed on O‘ahu. All but one of the cases are adults and at this time 15 are identified as Hawai‘i residents with the remaining three (3) still under investigation. There are now ten (10) confirmed cases of coronavirus at the Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Honolulu (2 healthcare workers & 8 residents). All but one of these cases resided or worked on a single unit in the facility. So far, 307 staff, tested from other areas of the facility, have received negative COVID-19 test results.

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

* Includes cases that meet isolation release criteria.

Laboratory* Testing Data

There were 1,370 additional COVID-19 tests reported via electronic laboratory reporting.

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting  **14 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/

Recent Spike in Covid-19 Cases Mostly Community-Associated

“This spike in cases and other recent daily spikes have been expected as people begin to move around more freely and more businesses are reopening,” said Dr. Sarah Park, State Epidemiologist. She continued, “It’s important to point out, that the vast majority of the cases we’re seeing in the state are being spread by what we call community-associated infection. Only a handful of recent cases have been detected in travelers, known as travel-associated infection.”

Health experts and state leaders are reminding Hawai‘i residents daily to continue with safe practices, including physical distancing, use of face masks, hand washing and staying home when sick. “These steps altogether,” Dr. Park explains, “are the single best things each and every one of us can and should do, not only to protect our own health, but the health of all of our loved ones and particularly our kupuna.”

Dr. Sarah Kemble, Deputy State Epidemiologist explained, “When there has been exposure in a healthcare setting like this, resulting increase in infections are possible and unfortunate, but not unexpected. We could continue to see a number of new cases over the next two weeks.” She went onto to explain that the DOH response has been tiered and focused first on getting residents and workers in the affected unit tested first, followed by testing for the entire facility, and then repeat (serial) testing. Read the full news release here: https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/hawaii-covid19-joint-information-center-news-release-recent-spike-in-cases-mostly-community-associated-june-18-2020/

Hawai‘i House of Representatives:

The Hawai‘i House of Representatives confirmed today that a person working at the State Capitol is one of those who tested positive for COVID-19. House leaders say the person wore a mask at work and stayed home when symptoms first developed, so the risk of infection to others is low. The state legislature is scheduled to go back into session next Monday, June 22, though the State Capitol will remain closed to the public.

The health department’s investigation of this case is ongoing. It’s working closely with the legislature to address all concerns and to ensure any close contacts of the positive case are in quarantine and being monitored.

Hawai‘i State Senate:

Attorney General Seeks New Authority for Emergencies

At a hearing today of the State Senate Special Committee on COVID-19, Attorney General Clare Connors said her office is seeking a new statute that will give the head of the Dept. of Health the ability to declare a public health emergency. This will be based on the director’s surveying of conditions, and Connors told legislators that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the need to be prepared and to be flexible. She also asked senators to establish a Traveler Screening Special Fund to pay for everything needed for screening of visitors and returning residents. The proposal calls for any fines collected from violators to be added to this special fund. DOH Director Dr. Bruce Anderson and State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park also provided information at the hearing.

Senator Dela Cruz Asks Governor to Consider Pooled Testing for Travelers

The Chair of the Ways and Means Committee and Special Committee on COVID-19, sent a letter to Governor David Ige encouraging the state to consider pooled testing of incoming travelers to Hawai‘i to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Senator Donovan Dela Cruz says pooled testing would allow the state to test more travelers using fewer tests and allow for testing of pre-symtomatic and asymptomatic patients who do not have a fever at their time of arrival.

“I am hoping that as we keep the screening and quarantine in place, that the state would also develop alternatives to the quarantine in ensuring the health and safety of our community,” Chair Dela Cruz wrote. “Alternatives may include government authorized travel bubbles, taking tests upon arrival, and others that still need to be identified and researched. ‘Pool testing’ may be a consideration.”

Department of Labor and Industrial Relations:

Hawai‘i’s Unemployment Rate at 22.6% in May

DLIR announced Thursday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was 22.6 percent compared to the revised rate of 23.8 percent in April. Statewide, 490,700 were employed and 143,150 unemployed in May for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 633,850. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 13.3 percent in May, down from 14.7 percent in April. To view the full report:  http://labor.hawaii.gov/blog/category/news/

State Issues $1,577,182,720 in Benefits Since March 1

The State has issued a total of $1,577,182,720 since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. DLIR Deputy Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio said “Ninety percent (90%) of the valid unemployment insurance claims that have come in since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have been processed and paid out by the DLIR. We also have 12,876 clean claims ready for payment of benefits by filing weekly claim certifications at https://huiclaims.hawaii.gov/#/.”  A total of 234,398 claims have been filed statewide.

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority:

1,516 Passengers Arrive on Wednesday

Today marks 12 weeks since the state’s mandatory 14-day self-quarantine started for all passengers arriving in Hawai‘i from out of state. Yesterday, a total of 1,516 people arrived in Hawai‘i including 418 visitors and 471 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 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2020

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/4744/061820-passenger-count-press-release.pdf

Yesterday’s Hawaii COVID-19 Update.

#rebuilding travel