Department of Health: Decline in COVID-19 Cases Seen as a Positive Indication Measures are Working After nearly six weeks of elevated numbers of positive COVID-19 cases, Hawai‘i is beginning to turn the corner and regain control of the spread of the disease on all islands.  

On July 29,  DOH reported the number of cases had exceeded 100 for the first time. By early August, the daily number exceeded 200. The case numbers this week appear to be declining with 169 new cases reported today. The seven-day positive case rate is currently 3.3%.

“This didn’t happen by accident or wishful thinking; it has been a collaborative effort. There is evidence the initiatives of the health department in partnership with other organizations such as the Hawai‘i National Guard and the University of Hawai‘i and the diligence of those in the community to wear their face masks and practice physical distancing are all working to decrease the number of cases in our state,” said Bruce Anderson, DOH director. “We are all doing our part to decrease disease transmission and flatten the curve.”

Anderson added a word of precaution: “But we cannot let our guard down again. If there are surges in the future, we can expect them to be smaller and last for a shorter duration because of our system in place to control the spread more rapidly.”

He noted living with COVID-19 is the new normal and maintaining control of the disease will require ongoing prevention, detection, containment, and treatment work by the Department of Health and its partners. Equally, it will require the ongoing commitment from individuals who test positive or those who have come in close contact with them to cooperate with contact tracers and disease investigators and to follow directives on isolation and quarantine.

“Strengthening our partnerships must also be a priority for testing and to provide appropriate isolation and quarantine facilities, to take any necessary enforcement actions for those who do not comply with recommended directives or orders, for timely reporting by healthcare providers and updates on follow-up care for those who are admitted to hospitals,” Anderson said. See the release: https://hawaiicovid19.com/hawaii-department-of-health-sees-decline-in-covid-19-cases/

Three Additional O‘ahu Deaths and 169 New Cases  Two (2) men and one woman, all from O‘ahu are the latest people to pass away from coronavirus. All three had underlying medical conditions and had been hospitalized. One man was in the 70 to 79-year-old age group and the other was in the 50 to 59-year-old age group. The woman was also in that age group. Their deaths increase Hawai‘i’s death toll to 94.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, Sept. 10, 2020

Hospitalization count as of 9/9/20 at 3:19 pm: 15-Hawai‘i, 24-Maui, 201-O‘ahu, 0-Kaua‘i 

Laboratory* Testing Data There were 7,211 additional COVID-19 tests reported via electronic laboratory reporting.

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting **25 test results were inconclusive      ++ Tests results from unique individuals. Total numbers may be higher due to repeat tests on single individuals. 

Hawaiicovid19.com 

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: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Deploys Medical Personnel to Honolulu   A federal medical team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began providing temporary medical surge support Thursday at the Queen’s Medical Center at Hale Pulama Mau and the Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu. The 21 personnel, primarily nurses, from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) join 15 medical professionals from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to help the two hospitals safely care for patients with COVID-19. The HHS team will be deployed for as long as 14 days.

HI-EMA Administrator Luke Meyers said, “As our State’s hospitals struggle to deal with their surges in COVID-19 patients, this assistance from HHS will make a significant difference in our fight against this disease. We thank the personnel for their dedication to helping those in need.”

HHS activated the USPHS Commissioned Corps, along with the National Disaster Medical System, to provide temporary medical relief during the pandemic. These professionals augment health care providers at overwhelmed medical facilities in hotspot areas across the country. More than 4,160 USPHS officers have deployed during the pandemic. These medical providers work in collaboration with local health providers to treat COVID-19 patients. To learn more about HHS’ response to COVID-19, please visit:

https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/Pages/default.aspx

Photos courtesy: The Queen’s Health Systems

Department of Transportation: International Flights Now Permitted Nationwide The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) was one of the select U.S. airports that the federal government was funneling international flights to. A revised federal order will now allow international flights to arrive at other airports in the country. This will not have an impact on HNL as it was already one of the 15 select airports. Furthermore, the only regularly scheduled international flight arriving in Hawai‘i is from Guam. All passengers arriving in Hawai‘i will continue to be required to submit the mandatory travel and health form through the Safe Travels program and have their temperature taken when exiting the aircraft. September 2020 Update on Driver’s License, State ID HDOT would like to reassure everyone that the Department continues to work with the Governor’s Office, the Office of the Attorney General, and the City and County of Honolulu to reduce the need for people to gather at driver’s licensing centers.

Under the current emergency proclamation, the 12^th Supplementary Proclamation, the Director of Transportation has been authorized to waive or extend deadlines governed by Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Sections 286-106 and 286-107 for the identified emergency period. As such, HDOT has announced:

Drivers License and Instructional Permit holders in good standing who have a license or permit that expires between March 16, 2020 thru September 29, 2020, may continue to legally drive the same licensed class of motor vehicle (e.g., cars, motorcycles, mopeds, etc.) through September 30, 2020.  Updates on available driver’s license and State ID services for Oahu can be found at honolulu.gov/csd 

Department of Labor and Industrial Relations:  State Releases Updated Unemployment Insurance Information   DLIR announced updated unemployment insurance claims information Thursday, including paying $3,081,193,375 since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic on March 1, 2020.

DLIR also announced Thursday that it is launching a self-certification modification to the unemployment insurance portal on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. This will allow claimants to enroll in the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program by certifying their unemployment was due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. Acting Director Anne Eustaquio said, “We’re deploying this feature as part of our efforts to provide additional relief to claimants as soon as possible. We’re diligently building a new program within the unemployment computer system to implement and pay LWA benefits.”

Claimants are required to sign into their accounts on the unemployment insurance portal and answer a pop-up page that allows them to self-certify that they were partially or wholly unemployed due to COVID-19. A graphic demonstrating the process is available at

https://labor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/How-LWA20200906.pdf. The DLIR will start processing payments in October and the payments will be staggered for each week claimants are eligible. Payments will be retroactive for all the weeks for which claimants are eligible. To view more:  http://labor.hawaii.gov/blog/category/news/

Helpful Resources 

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

To report violators: 808-935-3311

• City & County of Honolulu Interisland passengers arriving on O‘ahu are not subject to the mandatory quarantine.

To report violators:808-723-3900 or [email protected]

Dan Dennison Lead Public Information Officer Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center [email protected]

Senior Communications Manager Hawaii Dept. of Land & Natural Resources Communications Office [email protected] (808) 587-0396