Hawai‘i COVID-19 News Update – August 27, 2021
Aloha,
Here’s the latest COVID-19 news and issues facing Hawai‘i that you need to know this week.
Amid skyrocketing case counts, University of Hawai‘i forecasters say O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island are in the “eye of a COVID-19 hurricane,” and Maui is next.
- For the first time since the pandemic began, the state records more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day and the highest fatality count with nine new deaths.
- The Hawaii Pandemic Applied Modeling Work Group reports there are no signs of cases
or hospitalizations slowing down anytime in the near future and predicts that Maui’s daily infection rates will increase by 15-20% in a single week.
- Meanwhile, the Department of Education reports 430 cases in schools across the state over a two-week period since the school year started. However, Dr. Scott Miscovich, who has helped lead Hawaii’s testing effort, believes case numbers regarding COVID-19 infections in kids are understated.
- On Hawai‘i Island, Dr. Miscovich’s Premier Medical Group conducted mass testing over the weekend. Doctors discovered a third of minors tested were positive for the virus.
- Dr. Dang-Akiona, who helped with the testing, said, “You cannot tell the difference between just a normal hanabata kid and COVID anymore, so they’re (parents) like ‘oh no, his nose is always running’ and we swab him and they’re positive.”
Native Hawaiian leaders and organizations stand together to encourage Native Hawaiians to get the shot as vaccination rates lag and case counts soar.
- Nearly two dozen Native Hawaiian leaders, including kumu hula, educators, health care professionals, public officials and politicians, issued the call to action to the community to stop the COVID-19 surge by getting the shot wearing a mask and avoiding social gatherings.
- Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole said, “In a lot of our Hawaiian communities that are rural or underserved, there’s a lack of access to healthcare. And as a result, you get a lack of access to really good information and medical experts who people trust. So we need to do that grassroots ourselves.”
- Native Hawaiians comprise 21% of the state's population, but DOH reports cases among Native Hawaiians have surged to 27% since the Delta variant took hold in July.
- Diane Paloma, chief executive officer of The King Lunalilo Trust and Home, said, “The consequences of this pandemic are devastating and we must take action now to protect our future. It is my sincere hope that the generations who come long after us know that we did everything possible to remain standing as a lāhui.”
Governor Ige warns that he will take extreme measures like lockdowns or shuttering businesses if the COVID surge continues.
- Governor Ige told KITV, “We agree that it wouldn’t be the same stay at home orders that we issued very early on in the pandemic. I think it’s about identifying ways to restrict gatherings or activities that bring people together that ends up spreading the virus. It will be different because 60% of our community is vaccinated."
- Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is not in favor of a lockdown and instead says the city will continue to crack down on large gatherings and promote vaccinations.
- Governor Ige said he hopes to have a voluntary vaccine pass for restaurants, bars and gyms ready as soon as Labor Day. He clarified that he has no immediate plans to mandate vaccinations for entry into businesses.
- However, many local businesses are concerned about the effects that a vaccine pass may have on revenue, according to Civil Beat.
- Meanwhile, Hawai‘i Island Mayor Mitch Roth announces new restrictions, limiting gatherings to 10 people indoors and outdoors. The new policy is effective immediately.
- Mayor Roth said, “We have reached a tipping point where further inundation could lead our hospitals to an inability to adequately care for non-Covid trauma patients.”
Governor Ige tells visitors to stay away from Hawai‘i and asks residents to limit travel to essential business only.
- The governor said, “It’s not a good time to travel to the islands. There is limited access to rental cars, and we know that the visitors who choose to come to the islands will not have the typical kind of holiday that they expect to get when they visit Hawaii.”
- He expects the hospitality industry to cooperate, though he acknowledges that “most” new cases result from residents traveling off-island and coming back home to spread COVID-19 in the community, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
- House Speaker Scott Saiki questioned the request, stating, “There are so many questions that need to be answered. I don’t see how the governor’s request will improve COVID numbers in Hawaii. The governor should have asked unvaccinated people not to travel to Hawai‘i.”
- State Sen Glenn Wakai, chairman of the Senate Energy, Economic Development, Tourism and Technology Committee, said the governor’s travel recommendations were overdue and may be designed to placate the anti-tourism sentiment in the local community.
- Senator Wakai added: “Somehow we believe that the tourists are the scoundrels in all this, when it’s not just them. Locals are partially to blame. It’s unfortunate that all of our economic and environmental and health issues have been pointed at the tourists.”
PBS Hawai‘i gathers stakeholders from the tourism industry, labor, government and communities from across Hawai‘i for a town hall forum to contemplate the question “how much tourism is too much, and who decides?”
- The roughly hour and a half program featured guests like Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO; John De Fries, Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority President and CEO; Carl Bonham, University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization and others.
- Click here to read Bennet Group’s full notes from the forum, and here are a few key takeaways shared in the discussion.
- The visitor trends and behavior seen in summer 2020 were the product of a very unique situation. Tourism management will become simplified as the arrivals numbers continue to decrease and a vaccinated, mature audience returns.
- Illegal short-term vacation rentals are the worst way to host visitors because they don’t contribute to Hawaiʻi via taxes, take away units from residents and lead to missed job opportunities through hotel workers – through housekeeping, concierge and valet – and restaurants.
- The key to a more thoughtful visitor is not just to teach the value of aloha but of kuleana (responsibility). When travelers are exposed to information sources and are made to abide by guidelines to protect resources, they’ll learn to share in the values and respect sites.
Mahalo nui loa,
Your BG Team