Hawai‘i COVID-19 News Update – July 23, 2021
Aloha,
Here’s the latest COVID-19 news and issues facing Hawai‘i that you need to know this week.
COVID-19 cases spike to the highest daily count – 243 cases – since January, and health officials expect the number of new infections will continue to rise.
- For more than a week, Hawai‘i has recorded triple-digit case counts, and health officials say 97% of those newly infected with COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi are unvaccinated.
- “It actually is quite alarming because the infection rate in the unvaccinated population is actually higher now than what it was in the entire population last year,” said Hilton Raethel, head of the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i.
- The spike in cases is due to the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant, which accounts for 55% of the recent cases and the increase in residents traveling to the mainland and coming home, according to reporting from Civil Beat.
- According to a forecast by University of Hawaii mathematics professor Monique Chyba and her research team, COVID-19 cases in the state are expected to continue rising in the next few months.
- “What is clear from the data is the delta variant is dominating very quickly, even here in Hawaiʻi. It’s the only variant increasing, so that’s the one we have to really be concerned with,” Chyba said.
Despite the rise in cases, state and city leaders are not planning to reinstate restrictions and instead are urging residents to get vaccinated.
- Governor Ige plans to keep the mask mandate in place until the state reaches the 70% vaccination threshold.
- “We continue to consistently monitor and evaluate the data and will make decisions as appropriate. The mask mandate is clearly an important part of our response and effort to protect our community. I continue to remind Hawaii residents to remain vigilant,” Governor Ige said.
- Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi does not consider going back to tier 4 an option and encouraged people to roll up their sleeves. “Now is not the time to remain complacent. Getting vaccinated is safe and easy and I urge all who are able to get vaccinated now.”
- However, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the plea from government officials to get vaccinated is falling on deaf ears.
- Political analyst Neal Miner told the paper, “I’m not sure how much more in front of the public the mayor and governor can get. We’ve run out of top-down messaging options from people like the mayor and governor. I don’t think that’s going to move the needle.”
- Meanwhile, more keiki are testing positive for the virus after getting infected by unvaccinated adults. HNN reports those under 18 account for more than 20% of new cases.
Travel demand from the continental U.S. boosts June hotel occupancy rates to near pre-pandemic levels.
- According to new data from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, hotels throughout the state were 77% occupied during June 2021, whereas they were only 20% occupied last year due to the pandemic.
- Visitor demand is high even though Hawai‘i has the most travel restrictions of any U.S. state.
- Keith Vieria, principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting, told the Honolulu Star Adviser that “Hawaii is benefiting from the fact that access to many other long-haul destinations is not open or is not as convenient.” But, “Hawaii’s tourism recovery is still pretty fragile given that it’s entirely dependent on domestic travelers and cannot rely on any offset from international travelers.”
- Pacific Business News reports this occupancy rate also marks the highest since the pandemic began and is just a small drop (down seven percentage points) from pre-pandemic levels in June of 2019 when hotels were about 84% occupied.
- However, hotel employment levels haven’t kept up with occupancy gains and only 62% of members in Hawaiʻi’s largest hospitality workers union – UNITE HERE Local 5 – have returned to the jobs they held before the shutdown.
- A new brief from the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization examines how Hawai‘i should pivot from a laissez-faire approach to destination management, arguing that “it’s time to bring in outside expertise to provide an independent evaluation of the situation and offer suggestions/options on how the state might move forward.”
Mahalo nui loa,
Your BG Team