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HAWAI‘I COVID-19 JOINT INFORMATION CENTER DAILY NEWS DIGEST Dec. 4, 2020

Posted on Dec 4, 2020 in COVID-19, COVID-19 News Releases, Latest Department News, Newsroom

Department of Health:

https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/what-you-should-know/current-situation-in-hawaii/

Ten Deaths Reported Today Occurred More Than Two-Weeks Ago

Seven (7) deaths at a Hawai‘i island long-term care facility, which experienced a COVID-19 outbreak in October, have now been classified by DOH as coronavirus related, as a result of updated information. The deaths include three (3) women and four (4) men, all who had underlying health conditions and ranged in age from 60 to 80+ years old.

Three (3) additional deaths were reported from O‘ahu today, also occurring more than two-weeks ago. All were men, ranging in age from 30 to 80+ years old. All had underlying health conditions and two of the men had been in the hospital.

This report includes cases up until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. Full data is posted on the State COVID-19 dashboard and on the DOH Disease Outbreak & Control website at noon each day. hawaiicovid19.com/dashboard 

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 11:59 p.m. Dec. 2, 2020

Island of Diagnosis New Cases Reported since

2/28/2020

(including new cases)
O‘ahu 73 15,613
Hawai‘i 11 1,623
Maui 15 579
Kaua‘i 3 119
Moloka‘i 0 18
Lānaʻi 0 106
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI 4 232
Total Cases 106 18,290++
Deaths    10 256

Hospitalizations as of 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2020 – Hawai‘i-2, Maui-2, O‘ahu-52, Kauai-1 

++As a result of updated information, one(1) case on Maui and one (1) case on Hawai‘i were dropped from the counts. 

Updated Quarantine Guidance Based on Review of New CDC Recommendations
DOH announced, effective today, it is reducing the required quarantine for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 from 14 days to 10 days. This is to improve compliance without significantly increasing the risk of transmission in the community.

The updated recommendations were issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this week. The previous 14-day quarantine period was based on the full incubation period of the virus. The maximum COVID-19 incubation period was imposed to reduce the risk of transmission. However, the 14-day period created physical and mental health challenges as well as economic hardship for those unable to return to work.

“We are following the CDC’s guidance for a shorter quarantine to address the mental and emotional health issues caused by isolation and to improve compliance,” said Dr. Elizabeth Char, DOH director. “However, it’s important to point out, that we’ll continue to closely monitor the evolving science for information that would warrant a reconsideration of these

recommended options.”

Stipulations for Updated 10-day Quarantine Guidance

  • Not applicable to people in congregate settings such as long-term care facilities, group care homes, assisted living facilities, correctional facilities, shelters, residential rehabilitation and treatment settings, or military recruit housing
  • Anyone in quarantine cannot have any clinical evidence of COVID-19 symptoms up to the time quarantine is discontinued
  • Daily symptom self-monitoring must continue for 14 days. Anyone who develops symptoms within this time period should seek testing and self-isolate while awaiting results
  • Close contacts of those exposed to COVID-19 must adhere to all recommended mitigation strategies including; correct and consistent mask use, physical distancing, hand and cough hygiene, avoiding crowds, environmental cleaning and disinfection, and adequate indoor ventilation

The new quarantine guidance does not modify any travel quarantine provided for in the governor’s proclamations related to the COVID-19 emergency.

Read the full news release here:

https://hawaiicovid19.com/hawaii-department-of-health-updates-quarantine-guidance-based-on-review-of-centers-for-disease-control-and-preventions-new-recommendations/

Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism:

Improvement Emerging in Hawaii’s Economy

DBEDT now projects that Hawai‘i’s economic growth will fall by 11.2 percent in 2020, less than the 12.3 percent previously forecast.

Select Recent Economic Improvements in DBEDT Fourth Quarter Report

  1. Visitor arrivals recovered by 23 percent in November 2020 in comparison to the level, in the same month, in 2019. The preliminary visitor count for November was 6,100 a day, which is an improvement from 630 a day for the first half of October and from 4,000 a day for the second half of October.
  2. Hawai‘i bankruptcy filings fell by 9.4 percent during the first eleven months of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.
  3. Personal income rose 15.9 percent during the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same quarter a year ago.
  4. Initial unemployment claims have been stable at below 5,000 level since October 17. For the most recent week (week ending November 28), initial unemployment claims were 6.7 percent of the peak level, which occurred in the week ending April 4, 2020 with 53,112 unemployment filings.
  5. In December 2020, 935 more flights are scheduled from the U.S. mainland and 84 more flights are scheduled from international destinations than in November 2020. Of the international flights in December, 42 will be coming from Canada, which is the first time that Hawai‘i has had Canadian inbound flights since April 2020.
  6. Hawai‘i’s unemployment rate continued to decline from 23.4 percent in May 2020 to 14.2 percent in October 2020.

The improvements cited above, and others noted in the report, are mainly attributed to federal government assistance programs and the starting of the pre-travel testing program for trans-Pacific passengers. As of the end of November, federal funds allocated to Hawai‘i totaled $10.3 billion, of which 80.3 percent has been spent.

“We are happy to see the improvements in the economies of the U.S. and Hawai‘i. It is great to see the airlines adding flights to our state, especially those from Canada and Japan. With the expected distribution and use of the COVID-19 vaccine in December, I believe our tourism recovery will be accelerating in 2021,” said DBEDT Director Mike McCartney. “During the last three quarters of 2020 we faced unprecedented challenges while slowly restarting our economy and will continue to face more difficult times during the first half of 2021. Nonetheless, I am optimistic that we will see accelerated economic growth during the second half of 2021 due to increased visitor arrivals thanks to our Safe Travels program and the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.” The full report is available at: dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/qser/.

Department of Public Safety:

Mass Inmate Testing Continues

Surge testing at Waiawa Correctional Facility (WCF) is ongoing. There was one (1) positive inmate result received. An additional 47 WCF inmates have recovered, increasing the total recoveries to 110 and bringing the active positive inmate cases down to 88. Additionally, one (1) Halawa Correctional Facility employee reported a positive test result. The employee last worked on Dec. 1, 2020. PSD is working with DOH on contact tracing. For more information on PSD’s planning and response efforts to COVID-19:

https://dps.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-resources/.

Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority:

8,908 Passengers Arrive on Thursday

Yesterday, a total of 8,908 people arrived in Hawai‘i from out of state. A total of 4,203 people indicated they came to Hawai‘i for vacation. There were also 1,408 returning residents. The trans-pacific passenger arrival data is derived from data provided by the Safe Travels digital system.

To view more: https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/covid-19-updates/trans-pacific-passenger-arrivals/

House Of Representatives:

Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness Briefing

An informational briefing will be held next Monday at 10 a.m., and will include updates from City and County of Honolulu Mayor-Elect Rick Blangiardi and Hawaiʻi County Mayor-Elect Mitch Roth. Lawmakers will also hear reports from the following subcommittees:

  • Hawaiʻi’sEconomy, Carl Bonham, Executive Director of the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO) 
  • Strategy and Communications,Ray Vara, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hawai‘i Pacific Health
  • CARES Funds, Lauren Nahme, VicePresident of Strategy and Transformation at Kamehameha Schools and Jill Tokuda, Hawai‘i Data Collaborative.
  • Housing and Homelessness, Gavin Thornton, Executive Director of Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice.

To comply with restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the briefing will be held remotely, broadcast on ‘Olelo channel 49, and livestreamed at: https://olelo.org/ 

Helpful Resources

Trusted Testing and Travel Partners:

The state of Hawai‘i only accepts Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from Trusted Testing and Travel Partners. For the full list of domestic trans-Pacific, inter-county, international and airline partners or information on how to become a Trusted Testing Partner, go to:

https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/

Safe Travels Hawai‘i Program:
Program overview: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/

FAQs: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/faqs/ 

Email: [email protected]

Call Center Number: 1-800-GO-HAWAII

COVID-19 Expanded Dashboard (Tables, Charts, and Visualizations):

Hawaiicovid19.com/dashboard

Safe Travels Digital Platform:

https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/data/

Trans-Pacific Passenger Arrivals Statistics:

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/covid-19-updates/trans-pacific-passenger-arrivals/ 

Kaua‘i County:
Kaua‘i COVID-19 webpage: https://www.kauai.gov/COVID-19
To report violators: https://www.kauai.gov/KPD-Online-Reporting 

Rest, Test, Enjoy! Voluntary visitor post-travel test: https://www.kauai.gov/visitorposttest 

Resident post-travel test: https://www.kauai.gov/residentposttest

Maui County:
Maui County travel and COVID-19 information:
https://www.mauicounty.gov

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

Hawai‘i County:
Hawai‘i County COVID-19 webpage:
https://coronavirus-response-county-of-hawaii-hawaiicountygis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/travel

Critical infrastructure and medical travel request: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/e2f4ce19aa854964a8fd60bec7fbe78c 
To report violators: 808-935-3311

City & County of Honolulu:
Honolulu COVID-19 webpage: oneoahu.org
Interisland passengers arriving on O‘ahu are not subject to the mandatory quarantine.
To report violators: 808-723-3900 or [email protected]

Media Contact:

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Joint Information Center

(808) 636-8194 

[email protected]