Health investigators seek close contacts at Honolulu gentleman’s club

One More Fatality & Another Record Daily Count of 231

HONOLULU – An employee of a Honolulu gentleman’s club, who was sick, worked at a different club than the one originally identified by the Hawai‘i Dept. of Health. The clarification about the identification of the club came into DOH leadership after-hours on Friday and the department regrets the error. DOH is attempting to identify the club where the worker danced on July 25 as health investigators have been unable to identify all close contacts who potentially could have been exposed to COVID-19.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said, “Given that people may be infectious before they recognize they have symptoms, anyone who visited the dance club between the 23^rd and 25^th of last month should contact their healthcare provider, especially if they have symptoms, as they potentially could have been exposed to COVID-19.” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

Today, the Dept. of Health (DOH) reports the death of an O‘ahu man, older than 60, who passed away yesterday. His death is being recorded as the 31^st since the pandemic began.

(A previously reported death, of an elderly O‘ahu female on Aug. 5, has been removed from the tally. Her attending physician assessed she likely died from an underlying condition). Today, DOH is reporting 231 newly diagnosed positive cases of COVID-19, with 223 on O‘ahu, five (5) on Hawai‘i Island and three (3) on Maui.

Health Director Bruce Anderson again extended the sympathies of everyone in Hawai‘i to the family and friends of the 31^st person to die from coronavirus in the state, since the beginning of the pandemic in late February. “Unfortunately, with the dramatic surge in cases, we can expect more deaths in the coming weeks,” said Anderson. Hospitals throughout O‘ahu are transferring patients and opening up new specialized COVID units to handle the surge in patients that is expected over the next couple of weeks.”

Mayor Caldwell has ordered public park and beaches and other high-risk activities closed effective at midnight last night. All O‘ahu State Parks, off-shore islands, and Ahu o Laka sandbar in Kāneʻohe Bay are also closed. These State and County orders will be strictly enforced.

“Actions taken by the County to limit large, uncontrolled gatherings in public places and prohibit high risk activities should help prevent some of the spread of COVID, but that will not be enough. It is up to all of us to take responsibility for curtailing the spread of this deadly virus.  That can only be done if we all avoid close contact with others, crowded places, and wear masks, when physical distancing cannot be reliably accomplished. This weekend and next weekend would really be a good time to simply stay at home,” said Anderson.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, August 8, 2020

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since 2/28/2020 (including new cases)
O‘ahu	223	2,964
Hawai‘i	5	128
Maui	3	182
Kauai	0	47
Moloka‘i	0	2
Lana‘i	0	0
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI	0	23
Total Cases	231	3,346
Deaths	1	31*

*One previously reported O’ahu death was removed from the count after further investigation.

Laboratory* Testing Data

There were 2,698 additional COVID-19 tests reported via electronic laboratory reporting.

Total Number of Individuals Tested by Clinical and State Laboratories	Positive	Negative
141,944**	3,346	138,579

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting **19 test results were inconclusive

HawaiiCOVID19.com

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