Hawai‘i Reports its 25th COVID-19 Death, 17 New Cases on O‘ahu

The state of Hawaiʻi Department of Health today reported a COVID-19 related death in an Oʻahu man, between 40-59 years-of-age. Health officials say the death was reported late Tuesday, June 21, and was was the 25th death linked to the pandemic reported in the state to date. This is the fourth COVID-19 death in this age group. Prior COVID-19 related deaths are posted here.

Today there were a total of 17 new COVID-19 cases in Hawaiʻi for a total of 1,435 reported over the course of the pandemic. The new cases include 17 on Oʻahu.  There are currently 297 active cases in the state, including 11 on Maui.

Yesterday, the DOH reported that it is investigating small clusters of cases in Hawaiʻi associated with out-of-state workers, who were exempt from mandatory quarantine as critical infrastructure workers. Department officials say there has been no spread beyond this cluster, as all involved workers were not interacting with the broader community as part of the exemption and are now in quarantine.

To date, 1113 people (78.9%) have recovered including 122 (91.7%) recovery in Maui County.

As of Tuesday, there were 46 people hospitalized for COVID-19 (confirmed and suspected) in Hawaiʻi, according to Lt. Gov. Green.  He also noted that 110 of 244 ICU beds (45%) were in use, 11 of them by COVID-19 positive patients.  As for ventilators, 47 of 459 were in use (10%) with six COVID-19 patients using ventilators.

The breakdown by island includes the following:

• Oʻahu: 1117 confirmed positive (842 released from isolation);
• Maui County: 139 confirmed positive (122 released from isolation);
• Hawaiʻi Island: 114 confirmed positive (107 released from isolation); and
• Kauaʻi: 43 confirmed positive (42 released from isolation).
• Hawaiʻi residents who were diagnosed outside of Hawaiʻi: 22 confirmed positive (and one death)
• Pending cases, where the island of residency has not been determined: 0

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health reports that there were 154 cases (11%) that have required hospitalization.  At least 1,339 patients (93%) were residents.

Of the 139 cases in Maui County, at least 122 have been released from isolation, and 25 have required hospitalization.  Based on the current numbers, there are 11 active cases in Maui County.

To date, there have been 25 COVID-19 related deaths in Hawaiʻi, including 18 on Oʻahu, six in Maui County, and one Kauaʻi resident who was hospitalized in Arizona. Hawaiʻi has a mortality rate of 1.7 deaths per 100,000, according to Lt. Gov. Green.

In Maui County, cases with onset in the last 28 days have been in the Lahaina, Makawao, Kīhei and Kula zip codes.  Of the 139 cases documented in Maui County over the course of the pandemic, Wailuku, Kahului and Lahaina had the most cases (more than 20 cases each); followed by Kīhei (11-20 cases); Makawao and Spreckelsville (6-10 cases); and Kula, Hāna, Haʻikū and Molokaʻi (1-5 cases each).

Age breakdown is not available by county; however there is a breakdown of the statewide count.  Of the 1371 (excludes 22 residents diagnosed out of state) cases recorded *as of July 20 statewide (updated weekly): 132 were 0-19 years old (one of which required hospitalization); 487 were 20-39 years old (12 of which required hospitalization); 447 were 40-59 years old (37 of which required hospitalization; and three deaths); and 305 were 60+ years old (80 of which required hospitalization; and 20 deaths).

Maui County has six COVID-19 related deaths

• Maui reported its first COVID-19 related death on Monday, April 6, of an adult male over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions and exposure to travelers.
• The second Maui death was announced on Wednesday, April 8, and was an unattended death.
• A third death in Maui County reportedly occurred on April 7, but was reported in the state count on Friday, April 10.  The third case involved an elderly individual who was in the chronic care unit.
• The fourth case was confirmed on April 19, and was an adult male from Washington state in the 40-59-year age group who had no previous medical conditions. State health officials say the man’s exposure history may be travel-related.  The man had been hospitalized for an extended period in serious condition at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
• The fifth Maui case occurred on Monday April 20 and involved a man who had underlying health conditions. He had been in the hospital at Maui Memorial Medical Center since late last year.  This person’s death is considered related to the MMMC cluster.
• The sixth Maui case was reported on May 3, 2020. The case involved a woman, over the age of 60, with underlying medical conditions. She had been in the hospital at Maui Memorial Medical Center since late February. Her infection occurred in mid-April. “COVID-19 is not believed to be the primary cause of death, due to her other serious illnesses, but may have been a contributing factor to her passing,” health officials said.

Quarantine Updates: 

On Monday, July 13, Gov. David Ige announced he is delaying the launch of the state’s pre-travel testing program by a month to Sept. 1, 2020. He also announced the extension of Hawai‘i’s 14-day quarantine on trans-Pacific travel to the end of August. The governor said he still believes in the program and reports that the state has made progress, but said spikes on the mainland and here at home have stalled the program that many equate to the reopening of tourism in Hawaiʻi.

A separate quarantine in place for interisland travel was lifted on Tuesday, June 16.  This applies only to air travel within the state, and anyone arriving into the state would still be subject to a 14-day quarantine as outlined above.  Upon lifting the interisland quarantine, the state has implemented thermal screening, a new interisland travel form and a more robust contact tracing program.

The state has since selected NEC Corporation, NEC Corporation of America and their partner, Infrared Cameras Inc., to provide thermal temperature screening and facial imaging technology at Hawaiʻi’s public airports.

The thermal temperature screening equipment will be installed immediately at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Kahului Airport, Līhuʻe Airport, Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole and Hilo International Airport. 

• Phase 1 will have the temperature scanners installed this month at the gates currently being used for arriving trans-Pacific flights.
• Phase 2 will have the temperature scanners installed at the remaining gates in the coming weeks.
• Phase 3 expects to have the facial imaging equipment installed by Dec. 31, 2020.

Maui Public Schools Prepare for Start of Fall Semester in August

The state Department of Education still plans on re-opening classrooms in August for the Fall semester.  The department’s plans were reviewed on Thursday afternoon with the Senate Special Committee on COVID-19. Schools have three options to choose from: fully reopen with every student on campus for in-person instruction; come in on a rotating schedule with students doing both distance learning and in-person instruction; or do a full distance learning program. State School Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said models for individual schools are determined by the principals of respective schools.

Mayor Victorino Adds $3 Million to H.E.L.P. Program

Mayor Michael Victorino announced that Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. continues to accept applications for the Hawaiʻi Emergency Laulima Partnership (H.E.L.P.) program.

Through June 30, MEO received 5,690 applications and approved 4,361 for financial assistance through the program, for a total of $1.9 million in assistance.

The County of Maui has now allocated $5 million in general funds for the H.E.L.P. program, up from the initial $2 million when the program was launched. The program provided assistance to 11,775 individuals through the end of June.

The H.E.L.P. program provides financial assistance for Maui County residents to bridge the gap created by layoffs and reduction in work hours resulting in loss of income due to COVID-19. Assistance may be used for food, personal hygiene, medicine, rent, mortgage, utility payments, phone or Internet service, insurance or other essentials.

Beginning July 1, the maximum assistance in a 30-day period has increased to:

• Family of 1-2, $500
• Family of 3-4, $750
• Family of 5-6, $1,000
• Family of 7-plus, $1,250