Hawaii State Department of Health reports there are 233 new cases of COVID-19 in the state.  The state’s total count is 4,543, with 2,747 current active cases.  The State DOH said because of updated information, one case was removed from each Maui County and O’ahu.

Hawaii Island has 5 new cases, with 22 active and 144 cumulative.  As of Thursday afternoon, one Big Island patient was hospitalized in the ICU, according to Lt. Gov. Josh Green during the Governor’s press conference.

Kaua’i has one new case.  Maui County has 9 new cases.   O’ahu has 218 new cases, and 2,653 active cases out of 4,117 total cases.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green on Thursday warned that the state’s hospital capacity is getting to the critical stress point because of the increase in COVID-19 cases.  Yesterday, he reported there were 150 people in the hospital with COVID-19.  Today, it is 173, with 41 people in the Intensive Care Unit, an increase from yesterday’s 29.

Health officials nationwide have said contact tracing is one key to stopping the spread of the virus (along with the individual actions of mask wearing, distancing, and hand washing).  Yesterday, the Governor announced the State DOH has hired Emily Roberson, PhD, from Hawaii Pacific University to head up contact tracing for the state.  Dr. Roberson was not present at the briefing.  She will report to Danette Wong Tomiyasu, Deputy Director at State DOH, who was at the briefing and said Dr. Roberson was too busy to attend, but she is adding contact tracers.  The Department has been widely criticized for being unclear about how many tracers are on staff.  After an unannounced visit to the State DOH a week ago, State Senators found only a few tracers, some with case loads of 100 to 192, and the HGEA has filed a grievance against the state for requiring the few tracers to work nights and weekends and for not adding appropriate numbers of contact tracers.

In a glimmer of positive news, the state has not lost any additional people to the virus and the death toll is still 40.  But Green and other physicians have warned that there will likely be more deaths, based on the increase in cases and hospitalizations.

The state’s detailed report: