Hawaii Daily COVID-19 Update: Friday, July 17, 2020

Hawaii Daily COVID-19 update of coronavirus reports and statistics from government departments as of Friday, July 17, 2020 in the Aloha State.

Office of the Governor:

Governor Ige Signs Emergency Proclamation, Extending 14-Day Quarantine for Travelers

Gov. David Ige has signed the 10^th Emergency Proclamation, which keeps the mandatory 14-day quarantine in effect for travelers entering the State of Hawai‘i. Under the proclamation, travelers arriving in Hawai‘i will continue to undergo a mandatory screening process at the airport. The period of self-quarantine continues to begin at the time of arrival through 14 days or for the duration of the visit – whichever is shorter. All arriving travelers will be required to comply with all applicable state and county rules, directives and orders. The pre-travel testing option, currently scheduled to begin on Sept. 1, will be addressed in the 11^th emergency proclamation in August.

The proclamation also extends the moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent, suspends certain laws to enable the governor to access CARES Act money in the Rainy Day Fund, and suspends certain post-employment benefits and pre-funding payments to the Hawai‘i Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund for FY 21, to help address the economic shortfalls resulting from COVID-19. To view the proclamation:

https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2007090-ATG_Tenth-Supplementary-Proclamation-for-COVID-19-distribution-signed.pdf

Department of Health:

One Additional COVID-19 Death and 23 New Cases Reported

One additional COVID-19-related death has been reported. The Department of Health’s (DOH) Disease Outbreak Control Division reports an elderly O‘ahu resident over the age of 60 is the 23^rd recorded COVID-19 death in the state. DOH says the male had an underlying condition and had been isolating with family at home. State Health Director Dr. Bruce Anderson said, “We all extend our heartfelt sympathies to the patient’s family and friends who have just lost a loved one. Every COVID-19 death is an emotional reminder to be vigilant, wear a face covering, and practice proper social distancing measures. It’s about protecting each other.”

Twenty-three (23) total new cases of COVID-19 were also reported Friday. Twenty on O‘ahu, two (2) on Hawai‘i Island, and one (1) resident was diagnosed outside of Hawai‘i.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, July 17, 2020

Laboratory* Testing Data

There were 1,791 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

Joint Information Center:

Exemption Procedures for Out-Of-State Students Returning to O‘ahu, Kaua‘i Campuses

Out-of-state students attending any University of Hawai‘i campus on O‘ahu, Chaminade University, Hawai‘i Pacific University, and Kaua‘i Community College for the 2020 fall semester will face strict requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The requirements were agreed upon by the schools, the State, the City and County of Honolulu, and Kaua‘i County. Pursuant to the exemption, students must show proof, upon arrival in the state, of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of their point-of-departure. The test must be valid and approved by the State of Hawaiʻi. If they have not received the test result before they arrive in Hawaiʻi, or if they take a COVID-19 test after they arrive (which has to be taken within 48 hours of arrival), they must quarantine themselves for 14 days. Students can transition out once they show proof of a negative test.

The exemption only allows the students, after meeting additional requirements, passing daily wellness checks and obtaining a negative test, to attend university activities, like classes, during the 14 days following arrival.  Otherwise, the out-of-state students must self-isolate for the two-weeks following arrival. Each school is responsible for their students conducting daily wellness checks that include temperature checks and symptom questionnaires.

Other requirements include:

• Students must provide their university with a written statement indicating they had no fever, symptoms or exposure to any known cases of COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to travel.
• While traveling, students must wear cloth face coverings to the greatest extent possible and use hand sanitizer frequently. They must follow all State and county orders, including regarding face coverings, after they arrive in Hawai‘i.
• After arrival, students must use face coverings and travel directly to their place of residence.
• They are not allowed to use public transportation during their quarantine period. Once they have negative test results, they may attend official school activities. If they are in off-campus housing, they may walk, cycle, or use a private vehicle (no public transportation or pooled rides, except for university-provided shuttles) to travel to official school activities.
• Every student must carry a copy of an official email from the university that explains their exemption status.

Students who don’t meet these requirements face university sanctions. For more:

https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/University-Student-Arrivals-FINAL.pdf

Quarantine Enforcement is Active for Visitors and Returning Residents

More than 2,200 returning residents and travelers flew into Hawai‘i airports on Wednesday and unless they have an exemption, all of them are required to abide by the State’s current 14-day quarantine rules. It’s a monumental effort to keep track of everyone who should be in quarantine and it involves a hui of law enforcement agencies, representatives of Hawai‘i’s visitor industry, state transportation workers, and the community generally. So far,182 people have been arrested by state or county law enforcement officers for violating emergency quarantine rules, which is the number for O‘ahu (arrests made by the Dept. of the Attorney General Special Investigators), Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island. The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) reports its officers do respond to quarantine violations and officers have discretion to warn, cite, or arrest based on available facts and circumstances. HPD groups all violations of current emergency rules together and does not provide specific statistics for quarantine violations.

Thursday afternoon, Governor Ige, Attorney General Clare E. Connors and Paul Jones, Deputy Chief AG Investigative Division, answered questions from members of the community about quarantine enforcement during a Community Connections Facebook live, which you can re-watch here: https://www.facebook.com/GovernorDavidIge/videos/3124118047669160/

The team calling quarantined visitors is made up of 80 workers from several agencies, and they work to call quarantined visitors from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, including weekends and holidays. They have contacted well over 27,000 travelers and have made more than 113,000 phone calls, texts, and emails since the quarantine order went into effect at the end of March. An estimated 7,145 people are still actively being tracked as of Friday. Connors commented, “Our investigations division team focuses on any crimes that significantly affect the safety and well-being of our community. In addition, they provide public safety services during emergency situations. We take seriously our responsibility to keep people safe during this COVID-19 pandemic.”

https://hawaiicovid19.com/quarantine-enforcement-is-active-for-visitors-returning-residents/

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority:

2,616 Passengers Arrive on Thursday

Yesterday, a total of 2,616 people arrived in Hawai‘i including 737 visitors and 863 returning residents. There was a total of 30 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 THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2020

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/4881/071720-passenger-count-press-release-1.pdf

Previous Hawaii Daily COVID-19 Information.

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