Hawaii COVID-19 Daily News Digest May 14, 2020

Governor’s Office:

Governor Watches National Guard Salute to Hawai‘i’s Healthcare Heroes

For a few minutes today, Gov. David Ige took a break from the endless meetings, conference calls, and administrative work associated with the state’s management of the COVID-19 crisis, to join others around the state in recognizing the sacrifices of the healthcare community. From a State Capitol 5^th floor vantage point, the governor watched as aircraft from the Hawai‘i National Guard and the 15^th Wing Active Duty airmen from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam flew three separate flyovers over 17 different hospitals and medical centers around the state. It was an occasion to recognize not only military members, many of whom are supporting Hawai‘i’s coronavirus emergency response, but to pay tribute to the thousands of healthcare workers around the islands who are on the frontlines, battling this serious disease.

“We see across the country, the ravage COVID-19 has inflicted on community after community. We know that Hawai‘i has fared much, much better than any other state in the country, and it really is due to the healthcare providers here. I’m proud of all their efforts,” said Gov. Ige.

For more: https://governor.hawaii.gov/newsroom/latest-news/hawaii-covid-19-joint-information-center-news-release/

Watch video of the flyover and hear Gov. Ige’s comments here: https://vimeo.com/418676067

Community Connections Facebook Live

Gov. Ige gave an update on Facebook live Thursday on how the State is dealing with COVID-19. The governor reminded everyone the number of cases has declined and that Hawai‘i has adequate capacity to handle COVID-19 cases. He was joined by State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park and State Laboratories Division Administrator Dr. Edward Desmond who answered questions on testing and contact tracing. Dr. Desmond said the capacity for lab testing has increased but warned that even though we have a low number of cases, there is still no need for arbitrary testing. Dr. Park reiterated the importance of testing people who are symptomatic and that have also talked with their health care providers to rule out other underlying health conditions. While many have asked about why there is not more widespread testing in the general public with people not showing any symptoms, Dr. Park explained that the test only provides a “snapshot in time.”

Department of Health:

No New Cases of COVID-19 Reported

For the second time in a week the DOH is reporting no new cases of coronavirus in Hawai‘i. The total number of positive cases is dropping by one (1) due to a laboratory reporting error. An out-of-state resident was erroneously reported as a Hawai‘i resident.* DOH continues to investigate a family cluster of seven (7) cases on O‘ahu. Community outreach and additional testing of case contacts is continuing.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, May 14, 2020

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since 2/28/2020 (including new cases)	Total Released from Isolation*
O‘ahu	0	414	377
Hawai‘i	0	75	75
Maui	0	115	92
Kaua‘i	0	21	20
Moloka‘i	0	2	2
Lana‘i	0	0	0
Residents Diagnosed outside HI	0	11
Unknown	0	0
Total**	0	637
Total released from isolation			564
Deaths	0	17

* Includes cases that meet isolation release criteria. Cases that have died and one case that left the jurisdiction have been removed from these counts.

Laboratory* Testing Data

There were 866 additional COVID-19 tests reported via electronic laboratory reporting.

Total Number of Individuals Tested by Clinical and State Laboratories	Positive	Negative
38,302**	635	37,647

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting  **20 test results were inconclusive.

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority:

881 Passengers Arrive in Hawai‘i

Today marks seven weeks since the State’s mandatory 14-day self-quarantine started for all passengers arriving in Hawai‘i. Yesterday, 881 people arrived at State airports, including 246 visitors and 329 residents. The following table shows passenger numbers coming into the state. The table in the DBEDT section shows interisland travel.

AIRPORT ARRIVALS FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2020

	KONA	MAUI	O‘AHU	LĪHUʻE	TOTAL
Crew		7	131	8	146
Intended New Resident		1	72	5	78
Resident		26	289	14	329
Transit			82		82
Visitor		14	220	12	246
GRAND TOTAL	0	48	794	39	881
Flights	0	2	13	2	17

*Visitors are people who do not have a Hawai‘i ID, including essential healthcare workers, essential federal workers, former residents like mainland college students coming to stay with family, military on temporary assignment and leisure travelers.

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/4585/051420-passenger-count-press-release.pdf

Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism:

INTERISLAND AIRPORT ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES FOR MAY 10, 2020

Arriving Airport

Departing Airport	HNL	KOA	ITO	OGG	LIH	MMK	LNY	JHM	MUE	Total Departing
Honolulu (HNL)	0	58	82	153	48	16	3	0	0	360
Kona (KOA)	146	0	0	11	0	0	0	0	0	157
Hilo (ITO)	137	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	137
Kahului (OGG)	183	20	0	0	0	11	0	0	1	215
Līhuʻe (LIH)	52	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	52
Molokaʻi (MMK)	28	0	0	17	0	0	0	0	0	45
Lānaʻi (LYN)	4	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	8
Kapalua (JHM)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Waimea (MUE)	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	6
Total Arriving	550	78	82	191	48	27	3	0	1	980

https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/covid19/

Department of Land and Natural Resources

Beach Gathering Results In Man’s Arrest On Hawai‘i Island

A citizen reported a large gathering of people and cars at Alula Beach (near Honokohau Small Boat Harbor) to the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) early Wednesday afternoon. DOCARE officers responded to the beach and observed numerous people not engaging in permitted activity outlined in the State’s current emergency rules.

They contacted 24-year-old Dillon Kroll of Kailua-Kona and report the man immediately became agitated and combative, cussed at the officers, and was so angry other people on the beach became alarmed. Officers allege Kroll refused to follow them to their vehicles to prepare a citation and continued debating with them while yelling and swearing. They also report the man’s mother then had a verbal dispute with another woman who was objecting to Kroll’s behavior toward the DOCARE officers. Others reportedly grabbed their children and headed to their cars apparently due to the man’s unruly behavior.

Kroll was arrested for disorderly conduct, intoxication on State unencumbered land and violation of emergency rules and orders. He was booked at the Kona Police station and then released on his own recognizance.

DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla commented, “While the majority of our residents are following emergency rules, including not congregating on beaches, this arrest clearly demonstrates that there are a few who are not. They are not only possibly endangering the health of others, but their own. Health experts tell us, it takes everyone complying with social-distancing and other mandates in order to keep coronavirus at bay. Our officers will aggressively enforce the emergency rules and all other laws when they are advised of violations.”

https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/05/14/nr20-063/

# # #

PDF: COVID-19 Daily News Digest May 14, 2020