June 2020

HONOLULU – The State continues to warn of a multitude of scams associated with the COVID-19 virus; the latest involving scammers impersonating contact tracers in an attempt to acquire personal information. In its efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, legitimate contact tracers are calling Hawaii residents who may have come into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.  While this is a vital tool to combat the pandemic, residents should verify that the call is coming from an authorized individual before providing any information. Red flags that the caller might be an impersonator include asking for your [...]

HONOLULU — In its first two months of operation, the state’s first temporary quarantine and isolation center at 524 Kaaahi Street in Iwilei has provided a place for more than 50 homeless individuals who have COVID-19 symptoms to safely isolate or be quarantined while they wait for their COVID-19 test results. As a result, the center has been able to free up hospital space to improve care capacity, save on medical costs, and keep the community protected from potentially infected individuals. The Hawai‘i Department of Health has operated the center with a number of community partners, including the Institute for [...]

HONOLULU – As a result of contact tracing of a new case yesterday, Department of Health investigators have identified seven additional positive cases on Kaua‘i who are household members with the previous case. The new cases were already placed in quarantine when they were tested yesterday. Kaua‘i District Health Office is continuing their contact tracing of the household cluster this weekend and identification of additional contacts and testing is ongoing. Kaua‘i had no cases for ten weeks and this raises the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases on the island to 29, since March. There are six (6) new cases [...]

Despite Spike, State Officials Say All Systems Working as Planned HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Dept. of Health (DOH) is reporting 27 new positive cases of coronavirus today, which is the highest number reported since April 4. Health Director, Dr. Bruce Anderson said, “Despite our recent spike in cases, all of our testing and contact tracing procedures are working exactly as intended. Additional cases are being identified and added to the case count as a result of aggressive investigations, contact tracing and testing of household contacts.” The majority of new cases reported over the past week are associated with community [...]

HONOLULU – Packing and distributing thousands of masks, distributing hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies, and participating in COVID-19 outreach events, are just a few of the things the staff and management of the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority (HPHA) have been engaged in. HPHA is working hand-in-hand with the Dept. of Health and the Hawai‘i Air National Guard (HING), at outreach events at its large public housing properties. These events are designed to educate the community about COVID-19 and to show people how they can stay safe and healthy. Anyone with flu-like symptoms are tested. The agency administers about 6,200 [...]

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Dept. of Health (DOH) is reporting an additional 18 cases of COVID-19 today, all of which were diagnosed in Honolulu. 15 of these new cases are in Hawai‘i residents and the residency of the other three remains under investigation. “This spike in cases and other recent daily spikes have been expected as people begin to move around more freely and more businesses are reopening,” said Dr. Sarah Park, State Epidemiologist. She continued, “It’s important to point out, that the vast majority of the cases we’re seeing in the state are being spread by what we [...]