Coronavirus Q&A: Are Visitors Or Residents Bringing COVID-19 To Hawaii?
Gov. David Ige mandated all residents and visitors flying to Hawaii self-quarantine in hotels or at home for two weeks.
The Latest Developments:
As of Saturday, there were 48 COVID-19 cases confirmed in the islands. About 2,500 COVID-19 tests have been conducted 鈥 the vast majority at private laboratories.
Gov. David Ige that all incoming air passengers, both visitors and residents, would be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival. The order will go into effect on Thursday, March 26.
Enforcement will be conducted by counties, and violating the order is a misdemeanor offense with a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to one-year imprisonment. Residents and visitors alike are expected to isolate in their homes and hotels.
Hawaii Pacific Health said Saturday it will restrict nearly all visitors from its four medical centers 鈥 Kapiolani, Pali Momi, Straub and Wilcox. One adult visitor will be allowed at pediatric and obstetric patients’ bedsides.
Questions And Answers: Here are more answers Civil Beat found in response to concerns you sent us.
Are visitors or residents bringing COVID-19 to Hawaii? When the Hawaii Department of Health says 鈥渢ravel-related,鈥 what does that mean?
“Travel related” coronavirus cases signifies either that the patient traveled somewhere outside of Hawaii and was diagnosed upon return to the islands, or the patient was infected by a close contact who traveled and presumably became infected elsewhere. Technically, if a visitor were to be diagnosed after leaving Hawaii, their case would not be included in the state count.
Hawaii residents are more likely to transmit the virus than visitors, state health officials say. That’s because about 80% of all 48 cases to date are among Hawaii residents, not tourists.
“With the majority of Hawaii鈥檚 COVID-19 cases linked to travel, it is critical that we further mitigate the spread of the virus by both residents and visitors who are coming from out-of-state,” Gov. David Ige said Saturday.
The question of whether or not cases of COVID-19 are travel related will likely become moot as the number of community-transmitted cases grows.
Can you give us any good news?
China, where the COVID-19 virus was first discovered in December, is reporting . Any new infections have been from outside of China. That’s not without a lot of community cooperation. To prevent a second wave of infection, there are still strict social distancing protocols in place.
Each of us has the power to “cut a link” in the chain of transmission, .
How The Coronavirus Has Changed Your Behavior:聽We also asked people what they鈥檝e been doing differently since hearing about the virus. Here are a few things they鈥檝e told us:
- “The most painful thing was seeing my daughter’s college graduation “postponed.” For four years, we looked forward to this proud moment. When she found out it was “postponed” (in reality, you know it’s cancelled) we both cried. After a day of grieving our losses, we had to accept the situation and tried to focus on staying healthy.”
We have many more questions to answer so stay tuned for similar posts each day. Meanwhile, use the form below to ask us anything and tell us what, if anything, you鈥檙e doing differently to avoid getting sick.
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