Hawai‘i COVID-19 Daily News Digest September 16, 2020

Posted on Sep 16, 2020 in COVID-19

Governor’s Office:

Pre-Travel Testing Option to Begin on Oct. 15, 2020

At an afternoon news briefing, Gov. David Ige announced plans for a Hawai‘i pre-travel testing program that gives travelers the option of possibly avoiding a 14-day-long quarantine upon arrival to the state. This is viewed as one of the key measures for revitalizing Hawai‘i’s visitor-centric economy, while providing protection from the spread of COVID-19. Key components of the pre-travel testing program include:

  • All travelers must either pre-test or go into 14-day quarantine upon arrival to the state
  • All travelers are required to have temperature checked and complete a health & travel questionnaire
  • As an alternative to quarantine a traveler must produce evidence of a negative COVID-19 test no earlier than 72-hours prior to their flight arrival in Hawai‘i
  • The interisland quarantine for anyone arriving on any island other than O‘ahu continues through Sept. 30, unless terminated or extended by a separate emergency proclamation
  • FDA-approved NAAT tests, processed by a CLIA-certified laboratory are the only types of coronavirus tests currently approved
  • Currently approved trusted testing partners are CVS and Kaiser Permanente

The State has produced an extensive list of questions and answers associated with the Safe Travels Pre-Testing Program. See the FAQs at: HawaiiCOVID19.com/travel

New Leadership Team, Realignment of COVID-19 Efforts Announced  

Governor Ige announced a new leadership team that will oversee the State’s public health response to COVID-19. Maj. Gen. Ken Hara, Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency Director, will continue his role as incident commander, spearheading the collaboration between federal, state and county resources to address the pandemic response. Dr. Libby Char, director, Hawai‘i Department of Health is responsible for the management of the state’s public health programs and collaboration between state, county, and private healthcare partners. Lt. Gov. Josh Green will spearhead the pre-travel testing program, which includes adding partners to administer the tests and sourcing new testing options and is also responsible for planning the state’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy. Gov Ige. said, “This new leadership team gives us a stronger operational structure, stronger leadership, and clears the way for stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors.”  

Meanwhile, Dr. Virginia Pressler, a former director of DOH, has also volunteered to lead the Laulima Alliance, a cross functional team of public and private sector resources, ensuring that all have a voice in policy making and implementation of programs responding to the pandemic. Gov. Ige said, “Together with the progress we’ve made, and continue to make, in the fight against COVID-19, this new leadership team gives us confidence that the time is right to launch our pre-travel COVID-19 testing program, which is an important step toward reviving our economy while continuing to protect public health.”

Department of Health:

102 Cases Reported Today & Three Additional Deaths on O‘ahu

Two (2) men and one (1) woman, all from O‘ahu, all with underlying health conditions, and all in the 70 to 79-year-old age group are the latest to pass away from coronavirus. All three had been in the hospital. After two days of double-digit case counts, DOH reports a slight increase into the low triple digits with 102 new cases today.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, Sept.16, 2020    

Island of Diagnosis    

New Cases    

Reported since    

2/28/2020    

(including new cases) 

O‘ahu    

97

9,879

Hawai‘i    

4

603

Maui   

0

363

Kaua‘i   

0

58

Moloka‘i    

0

15

Lānaʻi

0

0

HI residents diagnosed outside of HI   

1

28

Total Cases    

102

10,946

Deaths    

3

103

Hospitalization count as of 9/15/20 at 5:30 pm: 22-Hawai‘i, 5-Maui, 183-O‘ahu, 0-Kaua‘i  

Laboratory* Testing Data    

There were 2,492 additional COVID-19 tests reported via electronic laboratory reporting.

Total Number of Individuals Tested by Clinical and State Laboratories    

Positive

Negative

265,500**

10,946

254,531

Total Number of Surge Tests++

 

 

46,923

295

46,628

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting **23 test results were inconclusive    

++ Tests results from unique individuals. Total numbers may be higher due to repeat tests on single individuals.

HawaiiCOVID19.com

 

COVID-19 Epidemic Curve Hawaii September 16, 2020

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

Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency: 

Update on COVID-19 Response Assets  

At the governor’s news briefing Thursday, HI-EMA Director Kenneth Hara gave an update on COVID-19 response assets that have been assisting in Hawai‘i. At the request of the State, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) deployed a team of public health officers to help augment clinical staff at the Queen’s Medical Center and Kuakini Medical Center. The short-term surge support is designed to relieve the pressure on medical staff who work in the hospital’s emergency department and intensive care unit (ICU). About 36 health care providers are deployed. A separate Veteranʻs Affairs team of experts in outbreak control will arrive at Yukio Okutsu Veterans Home in Hilo later this week.  

Post-Surge Testing Strategy  

Efforts are also underway with the various counties and HHS to expand surge testing on neighbor islands. The surge testing on O‘ahu showed a COVID-19 positive rate of less than 1%, which indicates that COVID-19 is not widespread or “out of control.” Director Hara said, “With positive cases identified through laboratory reporting and contact tracing also decreasing, things are moving in the right direction.”    

Airport Screening 

Tools are also being used at Hawai‘i airports to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, including using 133 cameras statewide to detect individuals with a fever higher than 100.4 degrees and above. Previously, National Guard members would stop each passenger as they exited the plane and take their temperature. Now, people exit the plane without being stopped and their temperature is taken automatically as they walk past the equipment. Facial imaging technology is also expected to be completed and rolled out by Dec. 31, 2020.

Department of Public Safety: 

Two Additional COVID-19 Positive Cases Reported at OCCC  

PSD is reporting two new COVID-19 positive cases; one is an O‘ahu Community Correctional Center inmate, the other is an OCCC staff member. Recovered PSD staff increased to 65, with only 38 active cases. Mass testing is underway for COVID-19 at all correctional facilities statewide. Testing started at the Waiawa Correctional Facility Tuesday. PSD anticipates test results will take up to three days to receive. The order of the facilities next in line for testing is still being worked out. Staff testing is being coordinated with the Hawai‘i National Guard and will be conducted separately from the inmate testing being performed by the PSD Health Care Division nursing staff. 

The inmate releases directed through the Hawai‘i Supreme Court orders are on-going. There are no releases to report for Tuesday. For more information on PSD’s planning and response to COVID-19, testing data, and information detailing the efforts made to safeguard the inmates, staff and public, can be found here:  

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

 

Helpful Resources

 

  • Maui County
    Maui County mandatory travel declaration form and request for limited quarantine form:

https://www.mauicounty.gov

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

 

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 September 16, 2020