News Releases from Department of Health

Department of Health: 

https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/what-you-should-know/current-situation-in-hawaii/

264 COVID-19 Cases and Four Deaths Reported Today

DOH reports 264 new cases of coronavirus today. Four (4) additional deaths were reported, all on O‘ahu. All of these people had been hospitalized and had underlying conditions.

• Woman, 50-59 yrs.
• Woman, 60-69 yrs.
• Man, 70-79 yrs.
• Man, 80-89 yrs.

This report includes cases up until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. Full data is posted on the State COVID-19 dashboard and on the DOH Disease Outbreak & Control website at noon each day at HawaiiCOVID19.com/dashboard.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 11:59 p.m. Jan. 6, 2021   

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since           2/28/2020           (including new cases)
O‘ahu	202	18,913
Hawai‘i	10	1,974
Maui	22	1,197
Kaua‘i	3	157
Moloka‘i	2	25
Lānaʻi	0	106
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI	25	523
Total Cases	264	22,895++
Deaths	4	303

 ++As a result of updated information, one case on Maui was recategorized to O‘ahu.

Hospitalizations as of 8:30 a.m. on 1/7/21 – Hawai‘i-2, Maui-11, O‘ahu-107, Kaua‘i-1

DOH Issues Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Plan 

Today DOH issued an executive summary of its updated COVID-19 vaccination plan to provide a roadmap of how the vaccine will eventually be made available to all Hawai‘i residents by the end of summer.

The prioritized system ensures the vaccine is distributed and administered in an orderly, safe and efficient manner, starting with prioritized groups based on updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). 

“We are continuing to devote our full attention to ensuring we have a robust and orderly rollout of our vaccination program,” said Dr. Libby Char, director of the Hawai‘i Department of Health. “We’ve integrated the ACIP’s allocation and prioritization recommendations into our updated plan to reach those in high-risk groups as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

“Our plan prioritizes the vaccine for those who come into direct contact with the virus and those who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 infections, and disability or death,” Dr. Char said. “The safe and orderly rollout ensures we operate efficiently to minimize waste of the dosages and to enhance patient safety.”

The updated plan breaks down the rollout of the vaccine into two major phases. The first phase includes three priority groups.

Phase 2 will cover the rest of the population, which includes all persons 16 years and older who were not in other categories. Phase 2 is projected to begin in early summer 2021, depending on production and federal allocation of doses through Operation Warp Speed.

Based on the estimated number of people in each of these priority groups, 73% of Hawai‘i’s population will receive the vaccination by the completion of all of the categories in Phase 1. The updated plan also includes a number of contingencies:

To view the executive summary of the updated COVID-19 vaccination plan, click here.

More details available in the full news release here: https://hawaiicovid19.com/hawaii-department-of-health-issues-updated-covid-19-vaccination-plan/

 

University of Hawaiʻi: 

UH Plays Key Part in State COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout  

UH has announced it’s providing up to 1,000 volunteers, facilities, and resources from Kauaʻi to Hawaiʻi island to support the implementation of the State of Hawaiʻi’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. UH President David Lassner said, “UH is honored to be a part of this important effort, which builds on the longstanding and strong relationship we have had with DOH. We all need to work together to bring this devastating pandemic under control.” Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char said, “Our goal is to safely vaccinate the people of Hawaiʻi as quickly and safely as possible. This partnership will help us realize this goal. UH has long been an important partner in providing for the health and wellbeing of our community and our state.” 

The volunteers will serve as vaccine preparers and vaccinators, will monitor for immediate side effects, and do other duties. The university will also provide facilities and equipment to supplement vaccination activities. To view more:  

https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/01/06/uh-key-part-state-covid-19-vaccination-rollout/

 

Department of Public Safety: 

Hawai‘i Inmate Dies at Arizona Correctional Center

The death of a male Saguaro Correctional Center inmate, over 65-years old, is being classified by an Arizona medical examiner as a COVID-19-related death. This is the second death of an inmate classified by medical examiners as COVID-19-related. The Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona currently has no active positive inmate cases.

Surge testing continues for all facilities. The Halawa Correctional Facility (HCF) reported 12 more inmate test results. Of that number, eight (8) were positive and 4 were negative. All 17 HCF staff results received were negative. Additionally, one (1) more HCF staff member recovered and returned to work. The Oʻahu Community Correctional Center reports 29 negative inmate test results and three (3) negative staff results. The Kauaʻi Community Correctional Center also reports 28 negative staff results. For more information on PSD’s planning and response efforts:

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

 

Department of Taxation & Department of Labor and Industrial Relations:

State Provides Info on 1099-G Forms for Income Tax for Unemployment Compensation

DLIR and DOTAX are reminding taxpayers that regular Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Extended Benefits (EB), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, and Lost Wage Assistance payments are subject to Hawaiʻi income tax.

Form 1099-G for calendar year 2020, is scheduled for mailing on or about January 27, 2021 to all who received unemployment insurance and pandemic unemployment insurance benefits in 2020. The 1099-G includes the amount of benefits paid and other information to meet Federal, State, and personal income tax needs for the tax year.

“Claimants have the choice to have federal and state taxes deducted or not from weekly benefits checks when applying for unemployment insurance benefits or assistance and may only change that choice once during a claim year,” said DLIR Director Anne E. Perreira- Eustaquio.

“We know it has been a difficult year for most Hawaiʻi residents, so if you cannot pay the full amount of taxes you owe, we recommend that you still file your return by the deadline and pay as much as you can to avoid penalties and interest,” said DOTAX Director Isaac W. Choy.

Claimants will be able to access and view their total benefits issued and taxes withheld amounts by logging in to their online account at https://uiclaims.hawaii.gov.

 

Hawaiʻi State Senate:

Operational Changes Announced Ahead of Legislative Session

The Senate is reinforcing pre-existing protocols and implementing several new measures to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining an open and transparent legislative process.

Protocols include:

• Workplace best practices: all employees must wear a face mask, practice social distancing, limit physical contact, and practice good personal hygiene.
• Cleaning and disinfecting conference rooms and the Senate chamber before and after each use.
• Providing employees with personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies.
• Installing protective sneeze guards, signage, hand sanitizer dispensers, and air purifiers and reconfiguring work areas.
• Conducting meetings, hearings, floor sessions, and staff training virtually.
• Conducting new employee onboarding online with minimal personal interaction.
• When possible, allowing employees to work remotely to reduce the number of individuals physically present at the Capitol.

The State Capitol building remains closed will remain closed and the Senate will conduct all committee hearings and floor session virtually. Citizens will have the opportunity to provide testimony in writing and via videoconference, allowing broader participation by those who previously were not able to get to the State Capitol. 

Changes include, using Zoom for online meetings; option to have hybrid meetings, and virtual testimony. All Senate standing committee hearings will be live streamed on YouTube and will be available online and on demand at: youtube.com/hawaiisenate.

The legislative session convenes on January 20, 2021 and adjourns sine die on April 29, 2021.

These new practices and protocols have been adopted in accordance with CDC guidelines, the City and County of Honolulu’s tiered reopening system and are subject to change.

More information will be made available on the Capitol website: www.capitol.hawaii.gov.

 

Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority: 

11,020 Passengers Arrive on Thursday 

Yesterday, a total of 11,020 people arrived in Hawai‘i from out of state. A total of 4,756 people indicated they came to Hawai‘i for vacation. There were also 2,180 returning residents. The trans-Pacific passenger arrival data is derived from data provided by the Safe Travels digital system. 

 

Helpful Resources

 

Trusted Testing and Travel Partners:

The state of Hawai‘i only accepts Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from Trusted Testing and Travel Partners. For the full list of domestic trans-Pacific, inter-county, international and airline partners or information on how to become a Trusted Testing Partner, go to:

https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/

 

Safe Travels Hawai‘i Program:
Program overview: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/ 

FAQs: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/faqs/ 

Email: [email protected] 

Call Center Number: 1-800-GO-HAWAII 

 

COVID-19 Vaccine Status in Hawai‘i and FAQs:

https://hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine/

Vaccine Call Center: 808-586-8332  

 

COVID-19 Expanded Dashboard (Tables, Charts, and Visualizations):

https://hawaiicovid19.com/data-dashboard/

 

Safe Travels Digital Platform:

https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/data/

Trans-Pacific Passenger Arrivals Statistics:

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

 

Kaua‘i County:
Kaua‘i COVID-19 webpage: https://www.kauai.gov/COVID-19
To report violators: https://www.kauai.gov/KPD-Online-Reporting 

Rest, Test, Enjoy! Voluntary visitor post-travel test: https://www.kauai.gov/visitorposttest 

Resident post-travel test: https://www.kauai.gov/residentposttest
 

Maui County:
Maui County travel and COVID-19 information:
https://www.mauicounty.gov  

To report violators: (808) 244-6400 or [email protected]   

 

Hawai‘i County:
Hawai‘i County COVID-19 webpage:
https://coronavirus-response-county-of-hawaii-hawaiicountygis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/travel 

Critical infrastructure and medical travel request: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/e2f4ce19aa854964a8fd60bec7fbe78c 
To report violators: 808-935-3311 

 

City & County of Honolulu: 
Honolulu COVID-19 webpage: oneoahu.org 

COVID-19 Vaccine Information: https://www.oneoahu.org/vaccine

Interisland passengers arriving on O‘ahu are not subject to the mandatory quarantine.  
To report violators: 808-723-3900 or [email protected]   

 

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PDF: COVID-19 Daily News Digest January 8, 2021