Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, infecting Mayor Rick Blangiardi

The variety of new COVID-19 infections in Hawaii is ticking upward as BA.2, the extra contagious subvariant of omicron, grows within the islands and after restrictions have been dropped.

Though Hawaii’s neighborhood danger degree continues to be thought-about low by the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, the COVID-19 menace stays current — simply ask Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

Blangiardi, 75, examined optimistic for the coronavirus Wednesday morning. He’s isolating and resting at residence, and is in good spirits regardless of experiencing delicate signs, in keeping with a information launch from the Mayor’s Workplace. Blangiardi is totally vaccinated and boosted in opposition to the coronavirus, the discharge mentioned.

He’s anticipated to stay out of the workplace till someday after the Easter vacation, and his workplace is within the technique of contacting those that had shut contact with the mayor prior to now few days.

On Monday, Blangiardi attended a information convention asserting the total return of town’s Summer season Enjoyable Program, adopted by a proclamation ceremony recognizing town’s emergency dispatchers for Telecommunications Week.

He’s the third mayor in Hawaii to contract the coronavirus. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino examined optimistic in January and Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth examined optimistic in December.

On Wednesday, the state Division of Well being reported 1,327 new infections over the earlier week, bringing the entire for the reason that begin of the pandemic to 243,299. Eight extra deaths had been reported for a complete of 1,390.

The typical positivity fee statewide was 4.9% Wednesday, DOH mentioned, in comparison with 4% on April 6. On Oahu, the typical positivity fee climbed to five.6%.

By island, there have been 941 new infections reported on Oahu, 160 on Hawaii island, 130 on Maui, 55 on Kauai, 9 on Lanai, and 5 on Molokai, with one other 27 circumstances identified out of state.

The Well being Division’s weekly variant report, posted Wednesday, reveals the BA.2 now makes up 70% of latest coronavirus circumstances in Hawaii.

In the remainder of the U.S., case spikes have been occurring within the Northeast, notably in New York Metropolis and Washington, D.C., with BA.2 now accounting for about 86% of all new circumstances nationwide.

Nonetheless, hospitalizations of sufferers with COVID-19 in Hawaii remained low at 29 on Wednesday, with solely two in intensive care and none on ventilators, in keeping with the state’s COVID-19 information dashboard. It was a slight improve from final week, when hospitalizations had been at 26.

Citing low hospitalization charges, Gov. David Ige mentioned Monday throughout his look on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Highlight Hawaii” livestream program that he was not planning to reinstate the state’s indoor masks mandate at the moment. By Wednesday, that had not modified.

“I don’t anticipate reinstating the masks mandate at this level,” Ige reiterated in a press release. “We did count on a slight improve in case numbers after spring break, and we’ve got seen that within the final week or so. Nevertheless, we’re not seeing the sort of surges which might be presently occurring on the mainland. Hospitalizations proceed to be low right here, and we’re in an excellent place.”

Ige added, “If there’s a massive spike, we could must revisit masks. Nevertheless, I seen over the weekend that many individuals proceed to put on their masks indoors. We all know that masks work they usually make a distinction in protecting our communities protected.”

The town’s COVID-19 restrictions, together with Protected Entry O‘ahu, which required proof of vaccination or a detrimental check to enter eating places, bars, gyms and different institutions, ended March 5. By then, the three different main counties had already dropped their pandemic-related guidelines.

Ige’s COVID-19 emergency proclamation, which included the indoor masks mandate and screening necessities and restrictions for home vacationers, expired March 25.

Earlier this week, Philadelphia grew to become the primary main U.S. metropolis to reinstate its indoor masks mandate after confirmed coronavirus circumstances there rose greater than 50% in 10 days.

On Wednesday, the CDC prolonged a nationwide masks mandate for public transit to Could 3. Meaning the Transportation Safety Administration will proceed to implement the rule for planes and transit hubs, together with Hawaii’s airports.

Tim Brown, epidemiologist on the East-West Heart in Manoa, mentioned Hawaii is “clearly in a rising part of the epidemic.”

The state’s seven-day common of latest circumstances, in addition to its common positivity fee, has elevated each week over the previous 4 weeks — with the latter rising from 2.9% in mid-March to 4.9% on Wednesday.

“We’re again to the place we had been principally in mid-December when it comes to the positivity fee,” mentioned Brown, “which so far as I’m involved is the one semi-reliable indicator we’ve got.”

And that, he famous, is with half the variety of COVID-19 assessments in comparison with mid­-December, which means case counts are underestimated. His recommendation to others is to put on high quality N95 masks indoors, which he considers the primary line of protection in opposition to transmission.

DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr acknowledged the coronavirus case depend is an undercount, provided that 1000’s of residence assessments, which yield outcomes not reported to DOH, have been despatched to folks across the state.

DOH recommends that kupuna ages 65 and older, in addition to people who find themselves immunocompromised or unvaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, proceed to put on a face masks indoors.