Hawai‘i COVID-19 News Update – January 28, 2022
Aloha,
Here are the latest COVID-19 news and issues facing Hawai‘i that you need to know this week. This will be the final weekly issue of Bennet Group’s COVID News Update, but we will continue to send news updates on an as-needed basis.
Researchers rank Hawaiʻi as the safest state in the nation to weather the COVID-19 pandemic as state and city officials evaluate restrictions.
- A study by online credit reporting company WalletHub ranked Hawaiʻi the safest state in the nation overall, taking into account vaccination, positive testing, hospitalization, death and transmission rates. Hawaiʻi also ranked second for low death rate, fifth for low transmission rate, ninth for hospitalization rate and 11th for vaccination rate.
- In response, Gov. Ige said, “Hawai‘i’s number one ranking as the safest state in the country during COVID-19, is in large part because of the diligence and patience of our residents, mask-wearing to protect our communities, robust vaccination rates and testing options, and our Safe Travels Hawaii program which has served to keep both our residents and visitors safe.”
- Gov. Ige also extended his emergency proclamation this week, keeping current restrictions in place and adding cruise ship passengers to those covered by Safe Travels Hawaiʻi requirements.
- Meanwhile, Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi announced he will drop the 50% capacity limit for indoor events on Monday, January 31, which was introduced two weeks ago with the rise in COVID cases.
Across the state, COVID cases peak and already full hospitals brace for more patients.
- Though COVID cases may be peaking, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports hospitals are preparing for the number of hospitalizations for COVID to peak in the coming days. Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi, estimated that there is a seven- to 10-day delay between the peak of the infection and peak hospitalizations.
- On Wednesday, hospitalizations almost hit a new high, with 2,400 patients receiving treatments at facilities statewide. Hospitals anticipated transfers and converting other available facilities for care. While staffing remained an issue, officials estimated there are 700 traveling caregivers spread out across Hawaiʻi and 80 more expected this weekend.
Visitor arrivals and spending are up but still below pre-pandemic levels.
- According to the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, visitor arrivals are nearly triple the number of last year but still far below pre-pandemic levels. tourism-dependent businesses have attributed the drop to inflation and Safe Travels Program restrictions requiring more work from visitors, especially those traveling from foreign countries.
- The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s latest report reveals that occupancy in Hawaiʻi hotels increased at the end of 2021, with 72.7% occupied during December 2021 in comparison to 80.2% in December 2019.
- Despite the drop in visitor arrivals, visitor spending is up, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. Spending totaled nearly $1.66 billion in December 2021, which marked a 5.5% drop compared to $1.75 billion in December 2019.
Hawai‘i businesses and organizations continue to cope with worker shortages and struggle to fill vacancies.
- The City and County of Honolulu said it needs to employ about 2,000 people to provide the level of daily services O‘ahu residents require.
- In a Pacific Business News Retail Roundtable, panelists said one of the main pitfalls retailers face now is the industry-wide labor shortage. Jacob Wilson, vice president and senior general manager of Ala Moana Center, said, “I am seeing more stores tell us ‘hey, we are going to have to close a little bit early,’ or ‘we are unable to staff today.’ That’s even given the center’s current reduced operating hours.”
- According to WalletHub, Hawai‘i ranked last in a new study on states whose unemployment rates are bouncing back. Prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate for Hawai‘i was between 2.1% – 2.8%. As of December 2021, the unemployment rate was 5.7%.