News Releases from Department of Health

Department of Health: 

Two Additional Deaths Reported Today

DOH reported an additional two COVID-19 deaths today. Both involved men who had underlying conditions. The first was a man from Honolulu, between 70 to 79 years old. The other was over 80 years old, from Kaua‘i.

DOH also reported 108 new COVID-19 cases today. A total of 93 of those cases are on O‘ahu, including 46 cases from a cluster at Waiawa Correctional Facility that was previously reported yesterday.

This daily news digest includes cases reported up until Monday night 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. HawaiiCOVID19.com/dashboard

 

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 11:59 p.m. Nov. 23, 2020  

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since          2/28/2020          (including new cases)
O‘ahu	93	15,011
Hawai‘i	1	1,558
Maui	5	504
Kaua‘i	1	102
Moloka‘i	0	17
Lānaʻi	0	106
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI	8	203
Total Cases	108	17,501++
Deaths	2	235

++ As a result of updated information, one case from Hawai‘i Island was recategorized to out-of-state, and one out-of-state case was recategorized to Maui.

Hospitalizations as of 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2020 – Hawai‘i-5, Maui-3, O‘ahu-59, Kaua‘i-0

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

 

Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency: 

Safe Travels Hawai‘i COVID-19 Evaluation Testing Program Update

The Safe Travels Hawai‘i COVID-19 Evaluation Testing Program has concluded its data collection phase and found 45 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases as of Nov. 24, 2020. Since the program’s launch on Oct. 19, 2020, 45 positive COVID-19 cases have been identified out of 20,253 tests, (or 2.2 per 1,000). Dr. DeWolfe Miller, an epidemiologist from the University of Hawai‘i’s John A. Burns School of Medicine will be leading the assessment phase – where he and his team will assess the data collected over the coming weeks. They will provide a report to assist state leadership and policy makers as they work together to make informed decisions regarding the Safe Travels Hawai‘i pre-travel testing program.

Dr. Miller said, “At this point, we have more than enough data to draw conclusions from the first phase of this surveillance study. Our preliminary analysis of the data has left us with early takeaways, but we look forward to further evaluations.” Lt. Gov. Josh Green said, “We are very pleased with the surveillance study and it has extreme merit in assessing the Safe Travels Hawai‘i pre-travel testing program,” said Lt. Gov. Josh Green. “We look forward to delivering a completed report to our state and county leadership so they can make data-based decisions on the best way to move the program forward and manage Hawaiʻi’s COVID-19 response.”

Per Dr. Miller, other preliminary findings indicate: 

1. Screening and pre-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing will greatly improve sensitivity of the PCR pre-travel test.
   
   
2. COVID-19 case numbers are increasing on U.S. mainland departure locations. This may impact previous results.
   
   
3. Surveillance results in phase one included both sampled participants and participants from Hawaiʻi County in which all persons were included. This has made it possible to include in the final report an assessment of case rates based on data from those who participated in the systematic sampling program. Preliminary analysis suggests that the sampling program, which had a large no show, many have created an upward sampling bias in the program’s case rate estimates. This will be more thoroughly assessed in the final report.
   
   
4. Very preliminary data analysis revealed a very strong risk for COVID-19 infection in returning residents relative to visitors.

The State of Hawaiʻi will evaluate how the surveillance program needs to operate in the future. To view more:

https://dod.hawaii.gov/hiema/news-release-safe-travels-testing-program-update/

 

Department of Public Safety:

Mass Inmate Testing Continues 

The mass testing efforts at the Waiawa Correctional Facility (WCF) has resulted in two (2) more negative inmate test results. The total number of positive cases remains unchanged at 149, with one (1) inmate in the hospital. The remainder of the inmate population has been placed in quarantine and offenders are being retested as part of the surge testing effort. The total number of staff testing positive stands at ten (10). DOH is conducting contact tracing. All WCF staff are in full personal protective equipment (PPE) and the warden previously halted all inmate movement to prevent further transmission within the facility and to the other facilities.

DOH testing of O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) inmates and staff is continuous. Of the 147 OCCC inmate test results received, four (4) were positive and 143 were negative. There are no OCCC inmates in the hospital. For more information on PSD’s planning and response efforts to COVID-19:  

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

 

Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority:

7,380 Passengers Arrive on Tuesday

Yesterday, a total of 7,380 people arrived in Hawai‘i from out of state. A total of 3,373 people indicated they came to Hawai‘i for vacation. There were also 1,235 returning residents. The trans-Pacific passenger arrival numbers are derived from data provided by the Safe Travels digital system.

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

 

Helpful Resources

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 Expanded Dashboard (Tables, Charts, and Visualizations):

HawaiiCOVID19.com/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 
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 November 25, 2020