COVID-19 Positivity Rates Now At 16.7 Percent In Hawaii State While Honolulu Is At 20.1 Percent! Hospitalizations Also Increasing
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jun 22, 2024 1 week, 1 day, 14 hours, 21 minutes ago
COVID-19 News: On June 2nd, 47-year-old Kai experienced a headache halfway through her workday. After testing positive for COVID-19, her symptoms rapidly escalated, including chills, body aches, a severe bout of nonstop coughing, and a temporary loss of taste and smell. This was her second encounter with the virus, and she described it as significantly more intense than her first infection in early 2023.
COVID-19 Positivity Rates Now At 16.7 Percent In Hawaii State While Honolulu Is At 20.1 Percent
"I got it in early 2023, and the symptoms were hardly anything," Kai recalled. "This time around, the symptoms came on fast and were really intense." Kai has yet to recover despite being prescribed antivirals by her doctor and she joins many that are reporting lingering symptoms and issues weeks later. She emphasizes the importance of taking necessary precautions, such as masking in public spaces.
Rising COVID-19 Cases in Hawaii
COVID-19 cases in Hawaii are on the rise, with the state Health Department reporting a daily average of 175 new cases over the past week. The state's average positivity rate has increased to 16.7%, up from 15.9% the previous week. In contrast, the positivity rate was just 4.3% on May 1. Honolulu's current average positivity rate is even higher at 20.1%.
https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/
Although no new COVID-related deaths were reported, hospitalizations are increasing. The average number of hospitalized COVID patients in Hawaii has reached 126 per day, the highest since last summer's surge. An average of six COVID patients per day are in intensive care units (ICUs). The percentage of patients visiting emergency departments with COVID also rose to an average of 5.0%, with the highest rates among residents aged 75 and older.
"We're still in a rising stage," said Dr Tim Brown, an infectious disease expert at the East-West Center in Manoa. He advises people to continue taking precautions until COVID-19 levels decrease significantly.
Local
COVID-19 News coverages in Hawaii are also indicating the number of sick people seeking treatments at outpatient departments in hospitals or at clinics are also rising at alarming levels.
FestPAC Precautions and Variants
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases coincided with Hawaii hosting the long-awaited FestPAC on Oahu, which drew an estimated 500,000 attendees. The festival, originally scheduled for 2020, was postponed due to the pandemic but still faced challenges from the virus.
Dr Scott Miscovich of Premier Medical Group mentioned that thousands of free COVID test kits and N95 masks were distributed to FestPAC participants. Approximately 500 tests were administered at the festival, yielding a positivity rate of about 13%.
The Hawaii Department of Health'
s new Respiratory Disease Activity dashboard categorized the COVID-19 level as "red," indicating high levels of circulation compared to historic trends
Renewed Hospital Precautions
In response to the surge, many hospitals in Hawaii have reinstated masking precautions. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii now requires all physicians, providers, and staff to wear masks. Kaiser also strongly encourages visitors, patients, and members to use masks while visiting its facilities. Masks may be required in specific areas such as the NICU, oncology, and mother and baby units.
The Queen's Health System is requiring caregivers to wear masks in all clinical areas and has implemented additional screening, including testing patients upon admission. "Beginning in mid-May, we began to detect an increase in COVID-19 cases across the nation, Australia, and Asia, and across our state and within our health system," said spokesman Cedric Yamanaka. The count of COVID-positive patients across The Queen's Health System has risen to 33, with several staff members also testing positive.
Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children requires masking for all employees, patients, and visitors in designated patient care areas due to increased pediatric hospitalizations from viral infections. Patients at Hawaii Pacific Health facilities, such as Pali Momi and Straub Benioff Medical Center, may request that staff wear masks during their care.
Dr Miscovich reintroduced mask requirements for his staff five weeks ago due to the uptick in cases. He advises that patients who test positive for COVID should seek Paxlovid if they are 60 years or older, immunocompromised, or at higher health risk due to conditions like diabetes, asthma, or obesity.
Community Precautions and Future Outlook
Infectious disease expert Tim Brown emphasizes the importance of community precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This includes masking in crowded settings, improving ventilation, keeping vaccinations up to date, testing if symptomatic or exposed, and seeking treatment if at higher risk.
"If sick, please stay home and don't share the wealth at your workplace," Brown advises. He also warns that not everyone will have a mild case, and some may develop long COVID. Therefore, it is crucial to stay safe to protect others.
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