COVID-19 continues its advance around the globe, approaching 3 million cases, even as some countries and some states in this country begin loosening up restrictions.  The Sunday morning, April 26 Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard:

Worldwide cases:  2,947,616   Worldwide deaths:   205,607

U.S. cases:  954,182   U.S. deaths:  54,573

Based on the trends over the past few days, the United States will likely hit 1 million cases within the next two days.

Hawaii Island has 69 cases, 47 of which are recovered, according to the State Department of Health on Saturday.  On Sunday morning, Mayor Harry Kim announced that the man who had been admitted to Kona Community Hospital on Wednesday has been released.  State DOH said  36 cases are associated with the cluster at three McDonald’s restaurants in Kailua-Kona, including 19 employees and 17 household contacts. DOH continues to monitor this cluster closely.

Several states have begun to loosen restrictions put in place because of COVID-19 as their governors see a leveling of cases.

Seattle, which had many of the early deaths,  has begun to reopen its farmers markets, but with social distancing and hygiene practices in place.  The Ballard Farmers Market was an example–although outdoors, the number of attendees was limited, and people stayed 6 feet away from others.

In Hawaii, Governor David Ige on Saturday extended the “stay at home” order through May 31.  Though Hawaii has relatively few cases — 604 as of Saturday — and relatively few deaths at 14– Governor Ige said he wants to make sure the state has truly tamped the virus down before loosening controls too much.  The extension also includes the mandatory 14-day quarantine for all travelers.  On Friday, the State Department of Transportation announced strengthened procedures for monitoring incoming passengers to ensure they really do stay in quarantine.