DOH Disease Outbreak Control Division Tables Updated Weekly

(Honolulu) – Gathering data on COVID-19, assimilating it, and reporting it to people in easily understood terms has been one of the many challenges that have faced public health experts and educators across the country. The Department of Health’s Disease Outbreak Control Division (DOCD) has maintained a data-rich website since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and now has additional open-source information available at: https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/what-you-should-know/current -situation-in-hawaii/.

Starting today, weekly updated charts on the DOCD website include the following:

• Race of COVID-19 Cases Compared to State Population
• New COVID-19 Cases per Week by Age Group
• Age of COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths
• Gender of COVID-19 Cases

State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said these simple-to-understand charts reinforce many of the key messages she and other infectious disease experts have been sharing for weeks and months. “While the death rates are clearly higher for older people, the data suggest that the bulk of the disease activity is occurring now among the 18-29 year-old category, which has the highest number of total cases, followed by those in the 30-39 year-old group,” Dr. Park explained. Conversely these younger demographic groups have low percentages of hospitalizations and deaths, at 1% and 2% respectively.  So, they’re not getting very sick, and they are spreading a lot of the infection. Just over a third of those 80 and older succumbed to COVID-19.

Pacific Islanders have the highest percentage of case counts at 30%, even though this group only represents 4% of the state’s overall population. Filipino’s account for 17% of the total cases, close to their representation in the state population at 16%; yet they represent 25% of those who have passed. These numbers, Park said, reinforce health education efforts underway in these ethnic communities to help people understand the importance of practicing safe health measures.

The number of men and women needing hospital care due to coronavirus infection is nearly equal: 174 for females and 189 for men. Males also have a higher number of cases at 3,313 compared to 3,022 for females.

The charts and tables in this dashboard will be updated weekly.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Dennison Lead Public Information Officer [email protected] (808) 636-8914