28 New COVID-19 Cases in Hawai‘i Brings State Total to 1,158

There are 28 new COVID-19 cases reported for Hawaiʻi today, including–25 new cases on the island of Oʻahu, one each on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, and one resident who was diagnosed outside of the state.  This brings the statewide count to 1,158 cases in Hawaiʻi over the course of the pandemic.

The majority of coronavirus cases being reported over the past few weeks are associated with clusters – meaning people were infected by others in groups or at gatherings. Twenty-two of the newly reported cases are residents, two are non-residents, and the residency of four cases is unknown at this time.

Contact tracing by the Dept. of Health has uncovered a total of 17 cases to-date involving two O‘ahu commercial gym facilities. DOH says cases in both gyms are linked to one person who participated in exercise classes at both.

To date, 847 people (74.3%) have recovered including 116 (92.8%) recovery in Maui County. There are currently 292 active cases in the state, including nine on Maui.

The breakdown by island includes the following:

• Oʻahu: 867 confirmed positive (606 released from isolation);
• Maui County: 131 confirmed positive (116 released from isolation);
• Hawaiʻi Island: 98 confirmed positive (89 released from isolation); and
• Kauaʻi: 43 confirmed positive (36 released from isolation).
• Hawaiʻi residents who were diagnosed outside of Hawaiʻi: 19 confirmed positive.
• Pending cases, where the island of residency has not been determined: 0

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health reports that there were 847 individuals released from isolation; and 125 cases (11%) that have required hospitalization. A total of 1,058 patients (91%) were residents.

Of the 131 cases in Maui County, at least 116 have been released from isolation, and 25 have required hospitalization.  Based on the current numbers, there are nine active cases in Maui County.

To date, there have been 19 COVID-19 related deaths in Hawaiʻi, including 13 on Oʻahu and 6 in Maui County. Hawaiʻi has the lowest mortality rate in the US at 1.3 deaths per 100,000.

In Maui County, cases with onset in the last 28 days have been in the Lahaina, Makawao, Kīhei and Wailuku zip codes.  Of the 130 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).

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: 

Two weeks ago, the state announced plans to start a pre-travel COVID-19 testing program on Aug. 1, 2020.  Under the program, trans-pacific travelers could get a test 72-hours prior to arrival.  Those testing negative for the virus would be allowed to forgo the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine.  With three weeks before the program is set to roll out, specifics on logistics have yet to be released.

State and county leaders continue to weigh the benefits and challenges of potentially pushing back the return of tourism to Hawaiʻi as cases continue to surge in some mainland locations.  Today, Gov. Ige said:  “The mayors and I have had productive meetings this week about the pre-travel testing program. We are assessing the current situation in Hawaiʻi and on the mainland, and we’ll make an announcement when we are satisfied that the plans will protect the health and safety of our residents and guests.”

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 is also reviewing several different companies as part of a procurement process to implement a facial recognition program at the airport as part of its screening process for COVID-19.