As Hawaii surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 cases Sunday, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said he is concerned about a potential surge in cases following this weekend’s holiday festivities.
Speaking from outside Kohala Hospital in Kapaau, the practicing ER physician announced 25 new cases, bringing the statewide case total to 1,023. The Big Island resident urged the community to remain vigilant in protecting themselves and others from the novel coronavirus.
“Please be very careful; wear masks,” he said in a Facebook message posted Sunday, a day after the state announced 24 new cases. “I am very concerned that because of people getting together over the July Fourth weekend we could see a surge eight to 10 days from now. Be very careful. If you’re out an about, wear a mask. If you’re indoors, and you’re not with your family, wear a mask.”
According to the COVID-19 Joint Information Center, all of the new COVID-19 cases announced Sunday were among Oahu residents, bringing the state’s most populous island’s total case count to 744 since Feb. 28 when the state began testing for the virus.
Hawaii County’s case count held steady at 93 as did Kauai County’s and Maui County’s at 40 and 128 cases, respectively, according to the center. Eighteen Hawaii residents have tested positive for COVID-19 while out of state.
As of noon Sunday, a total of 85,058 individuals — or about 6.1% of Hawaii’s population — had been tested for the virus, according to Green. Positive results for COVID-19 have come back in 1.2% of the tests administered.
Of the Hawaii residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, 777 of those cases have since recovered and been released from isolation. That includes 86 of the 93 cases on Hawaii Island.
Green said that equates to a recovery rate of 77.4%.
Statewide, 118 people — 12% of those who have tested positive for COVID-19 — have required hospitalization, including three on Hawaii Island.
“Our ICUs are very available in case we have a crisis. From a health care perspective, we still are only using about 11% of our ventilators,” Green said Sunday.
Of the 19 deaths reported in Hawaii, 13 were on Oahu and six were on Maui.
Meanwhile Sunday, the Hawaii Tourism Authority announced 2,099 people arrived via flights to Hawaii on Saturday, down from 2,372 on Friday.
Saturday’s figure includes 184 people who flew in via four flights to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport. Eighty of the arrivals were visitors, 76 were returning residents, 11 were people relocating to the area, 16 were crew and one was a person in transit, according to the authority.
Those arrivals remain under the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine implemented in late March. That requirement will be lifted Aug. 1, when out-of-state travelers who’ve tested negative for COVID-19 to enter Hawaii without having to quarantine for two weeks.
That’s when the number of arrivals is likely to increase as major airlines increase direct service between Kona and the mainland. United Airlines, which resumed direct service to Kona on Wednesday, said it will increase service Aug. 3. Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have stated they plan to resume nonstop flights in August as well.