David Y. Ige

Department of Health:

New COVID-19 Cases Drop to Double Digits After Five Days of Triple Digits 

DOH recorded 64 additional cases of COVID-19 in the reporting period that ended at noon today. The majority are on O‘ahu with 53 new cases. No additional deaths were reported today.

The COVID-19 dashboard has complete statistics, visualizations, graphs and charts on all health and economic related factors. The dashboard is updated at 3 p.m. daily: Hawaiicovid19.com/dashboard. 

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, Nov. 9, 2020

Island of Diagnosis	New Cases	Reported since 2/28/2020 (including new cases)
O‘ahu	53	13,862
Hawai‘i	4	1,409
Maui	0	425
Kaua‘i	2	73
Moloka‘i	0	17
Lānaʻi	0	106
HI residents diagnosed outside of HI	5	118
Total Cases	64	16,010++
Deaths	0	221

++As a result of updated information, one case from O‘ahu was removed from the counts. 

Hospitalizations as of 12:00 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2020 – Hawai‘i-10, Maui-4, O‘ahu-58, Kaua‘i-3 

Holiday Safe Gatherings Campaign Launches

Gatherings are the primary cause of COVID-19 clusters and the DOH has produced a new campaign called “How to Gather. For Real.” – to demonstrate how to gather safely with ‘Ohana, friends and co-workers. It offers practical guidance consistent with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Two public service announcements (PSAs), one focusing on gatherings with family and friends and the other on workplace gatherings began airing this week on TV, radio, online, in print, and on social media. “The PSAs depict real-life scenarios and tips that we can all use to gather and interact with others in a safer way,” said Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char. “We urge everyone to follow these practices and help us reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

To help drive the message home DOH enlisted the support of local personalities. In the first spot Chelei Kahalewai provides tips about celebrating her aunty’s birthday in a new way. “I wanted to help spread awareness about safety in group settings during COVID and felt this was a great opportunity to do that,” Kahalewai said. The other spot about safe workplace gatherings features Daryl Bonilla, an actor and stand-up comedian who enjoys entertaining audiences with his local-style humor. “I liked using light local humor to help encourage people to continue to practice physical distancing and cleanliness while still maintaining some semblance of normalcy,” Bonilla said.

It is important to remember that virtual celebrations still pose the lowest risk for spread. Hawai‘i residents should pay careful attention to COVID-19 levels in their community and use health guidance to determine whether to postpone, cancel, or limit the number of attendees at gatherings. Things to consider are case numbers, behaviors, location, duration, and number of invitees including out-of-state guests.

For more on how to gather safely HawaiiCOVID19.com/safe-gatherings 

For workplace guidance: HawaiiCOVID19.com/workplace-guidance 

Watch “How to Gather. For Real” : HawaiiCOVID19.com/resources

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Joint Information Center: 

Honolulu Couple Finds Preparation is Key to Successful Pre-Travel Testing 

When Jeff and Jean Lilley flew to Dallas to be present for the birth of their first grandchild, they knew there was a chance they’d have to quarantine when they returned home. 

However, they report their experience with Hawai‘i’s pre-travel testing program for incoming passengers, which started on October 15, was largely positive. Jeff, the pastor of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, says preparation and practice were key to a smooth return to the islands and bypassing the mandatory 14-day quarantine with a negative test result from a trusted testing and travel partner.

You can learn about their experience in this video: https://vimeo.com/476966669

Here are the Lilley’s recommendations for preparing to travel out-of-state:

• Set up your account at travel.hawaii.gov well in advance.

• Familiarize yourself with what kind of information you’ll need to provide about
  your itinerary, current health status, residence/lodging, and testing status.

• Know your technology and practice uploading PDF files to your phone so you can seamlessly transfer them to the Safe Travels app.  Follow the directions on uploading a quality PDF file for your test result with the required information, which will help improve chances of expediting verification of test results. Please visit https://ets.hawaii.gov/travelhelp/ for more information.
• Review the options for trusted testing and travel partners, as the state doesn’t accept COVID-19 testing from non-approved partners. Research which partners provide testing in your departure city or town and be sure to schedule within the 72-hour departure window.

The Lilley’s were among the 204,685 trans-Pacific and international travelers to arrive in Hawai‘I between Oct. 15 and yesterday. Read more of their story here: https://governorige.hawaii.gov/covid-19/covid-19-news-releases/hawaii-covid-19-joint-information-center-news-release-pre-travel-thoughts-and-tips-nov-9-2020/

Jeff and Franklin Lilley 

Department of Public Safety:  

Saguaro Correctional Center Test Results Received and Hawai‘i Mass Testing Continues

Testing of all Hawai‘i inmates at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, AZ was completed last Thursday. Of the remaining 50 pending tests, 34 were negative, 14 were positive and two (2) were inconclusive and will be re-tested. 2 test results pending. 

There are five (5) inmates in the hospital. All other positive inmates are in medical isolation at the facility. Inmates with negative test results are being re-tested as part of surge testing efforts at the facility. Their results are pending. They remain in a precautionary quarantine. There are currently 1,081 inmates housed at Saguaro. PSD has established an information hotline with recorded updates on the Saguaro testing at: 808-587-1421.

DOH testing of O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) inmates and staff is continuous. All 77 OCCC inmate result received over the weekend were negative. There are no OCCC inmates in the hospital. There were no new staff results today.  Additionally, 90% of PSD staff who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.  Information on PSD’s planning and response to COVID-19 can be found at: https://dps.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-information-and-resources/.

Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority:

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

Helpful Resources

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

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]

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