Hawaii Daily COVID-19 Update: 10/21

3 years ago3 years ago Linda Hohnholz - editor

Hawaii Daily COVID-19 update of coronavirus reports and statistics from government departments as of Wednesday, October 21, 2020 in the Aloha State.

Governor’s Office:

State Adds Partner to Trusted Testing Partners List for Inter-County Travel

The State of Hawai‘i has added Diagnostic Laboratory Services (DLS) to the list of eight other trusted testing partners for inter-county travel. Inter-county passengers arriving in Kauaʻi and Maui counties may bypass the mandatory 14-day quarantine if they take an FDA-authorized Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from the certified CLIA lab of a trusted testing and travel partner. The test must be taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure, and the traveler must receive a negative result to bypass the quarantine requirement.

Beginning today, inter-county travelers to Hawaiʻi County who follow these protocols will have two options to opt out of the 14-day mandatory quarantine. They can either take the test no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure, or they can elect to get a post-arrival test from a trusted partner. This would require the traveler to remain in quarantine until the negative test is reported and verified. Travelers must register and upload their test results to their Safe Travels Hawai‘i account and inter-county travelers must have the test result with them upon arrival so airport screeners can review the result. The full list of inter-county partners is available in the “Helpful Resources” section at the bottom of this Daily News Digest.

Additional transpacific and inter-county trusted testing partners will not be added for a period of time to give the new Safe Travels Hawaiʻi program a stable platform to operate and time for the state to monitor performance and adjust the system, as needed. Future partners will be uploaded to https://hawaiicovid19.com/. To view more on this latest announcement:

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR – NEWS RELEASE – State Adds Diagnostic Laboratory Services to List of Trusted Testing Partners for Inter-County Travel

Department of Health:

Fourteen (14) COVID-19 Deaths Reported

Fourteen (14) COVID-19 deaths were reported today by DOH. Ten (10) of those deaths have been reported as the result of updated information received on nursing homes in Hawai‘i County. The death of those dates range from mid-September to early October, and three (3) of those individuals had been hospitalized at the time of their death. Four (4) more recent deaths were also reported involving O‘ahu residents.

Hawai‘i

8 males, 70-80+ yrs, nursing home residents
2 females, 70-80+ yrs, nursing home residents

O‘ahu

1 male, 80+ yrs, underlying condition, community care home resident
3 females, 80+ yrs, underlying condition, hospitalized

DOH Confirms Four COVID-19 Cases on Lāna‘i

DOH’s Maui District Health Office (MDHO) confirmed yesterday four cases of COVID-19 in residents on the island of Lāna‘i. MDHO was notified about the positive test results yesterday and is actively performing contact tracing and investigation of the cases.

Initial findings determined that one of the four cases may be associated with recent travel. Three of the cases work at the same location and have symptoms. The fourth case is a healthcare worker who does not provide direct patient care. All four cases are in isolation. Residents and visitors are urged to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, and staying home when sick. To view more information:

Hawai‘i Department of Health confirms four COVID-19 cases on Lāna‘i

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, Oct. 21, 2020

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since 2/28/2020 (including new cases)
O‘ahu	65	12,617
Hawai‘i	9	1,091
Maui	0	394
Kaua‘i	0	60
Moloka‘i	0	19
Lānaʻi	4	4
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI	0	48
Total Cases	78	14,233++
Deaths	14	20

Hospitalization count as of 10/20/20 at 3:16 pm: 12-Hawai‘i, 4-Maui, 59-O‘ahu, 0-Kaua‘i

++As a result of updated information, one case from Hawai‘i was removed from the counts.

hawaiicovid19.com

Department of Labor and Industrial Relations:

Adjudication Unit for Unemployment Insurance Claims Launched

DLIR has added significant capacity to reduce the backlog of unemployment insurance claims. Over 100 trained staff will be assisting in the adjudication unit, which requires a higher level of expertise and knowledge to process claims. DLIR contracted services with Maximus Inc., which is already operating a virtual call center for the department. DLIR Director Anne Eustaquio said, “Even during this COVID-19 pandemic most applicants received benefits or a monetary determination explaining why they were not eligible within three weeks of filing. The backlog in eligibility decisions are largely related to whether the claimant quit or was fired or whether the claimant is immediately available for work.”

Adjudication is the investigation and resolution of eligibility issues raised and is a manual process that requires interested parties be provided due process to respond to the eligibility issue. Eligibility issues arise from several places including the initial claim, weekly claim, and employer contact, among others. For more information: https://labor.hawaii.gov/blog/news/adjudication-unit-for-unemployment-insurance-claims-launched/

Department of Defense:

National Guardsmen Assist City with COVID-19 Surge Testing

The Hawai‘i National Guard (HING) is assisting the City and County of Honolulu with a second wave of COVID-19 testing at multiple locations. Designed to look like the recent ‘surge testing’ that took place, the county’s objective is to provide free COVID-19 tests for residents working within the tourism industry. Testing is available at the Waikīkī Shell and other various locations on O‘ahu through November. To view more:

FREE COVID-19 Testing at the Waikiki Shell

Department of Public Safety:

Six Saguaro Inmates Test Positive, Negative Broad-Based Inmate Testing Results at KCCC, MCCC

PSD has been notified that six (6) more Hawai‘i inmates at the Saguaro Correctional Center (Saguaro) in Eloy, Arizona tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of inmates in medical isolation at Saguaro with confirmed positive COVID cases is 31. There are 13 inmates with pending test results also in medical isolation and 769 inmates in a precautionary 14-day quarantine. Saguaro nursing staff are doing daily temperature checks and monitoring the inmates for symptoms.

PSD’s Health Care Division is working with DOH, HING, and community partners, to conduct mass testing for COVID-19 at all correctional facilities statewide. So far, the first batch of test results for 93 Maui Community Correctional Center (MCCC) inmates and 20 Kauai Community Correctional Center (KCCC) inmates all came back negative. Testing at both facilities continues this week. The DOH testing of O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) inmates is continuous. There were no new test results received today for OCCC staff or inmates. Additionally, 97% of inmates and 86% of staff who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered. To view more on PSD’s planning and response to COVID-19:

http://dps.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-resources/.

Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority:

5,105 Passengers Arrive on Tuesday

Yesterday, a total of 5,105 people arrived in Hawai‘i from out of state. The bulk of the passengers, or 1,650 people, indicated they came to Hawai‘i for vacation. There were also 1,071 returning residents. The trans-pacific passenger arrival data is derived from data provided by the Safe Travels digital system.

To view more:

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/covid-19-updates/trans-pacific-passenger-arrivals/

Department of Transportation:

Harbors Division Announces Award for Critical Improvement Projects

At a time when our economy needs it the most, Hawai‘i DOT’s Harbors Division is proud to announce the Kapālama Container Terminal Phase 2 project has been awarded to Kiewit Infrastructure West which will complete the cornerstone project for the Harbors Modernization Plan. The project is the largest capital improvement project in Hawai‘i harbors history. It will increase operational efficiency, provide better resiliency of critical maritime infrastructure and significantly reduce traffic on surrounding roadways.

Gov. David Ige said, “This project is proceeding at a critical time when our state needs it most as we continue fighting COVID-19 and its impacts. The work will be performed by local talent and infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy, in addition to improving our harbor system that will benefit the state for decades to come.” For more details on the announcement: