![]() The percentage of breakthrough hospitalizations is higher now compared with the delta surge or last year’s summer Covid surge. Unvaccinated people are still at the highest risk of catching, getting hospitalized and dying from Covid, but more vaccinated people are getting sick as their immunity wanes. Baehr said the department changed its stance on releasing the data because the virus is moving so quickly and there’s less stigma around Covid. The health department has resisted calls for over a year to release such detailed data about clusters naming the establishments and dates of exposure. “If you can avoid travel right now, avoid travel right now.”įor the first time, the state published a table online describing specific Covid clusters over the past 14 days, including two clusters at The Republik, one at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and one at the District Nightclub. “Stay home if you’re sick, even if it’s a little bit sick,” she said. ScreenshotĬhar said she personally is not taking the risk of spending time indoors with a lot of people, such as attending a movie or an indoor church service. “We’re going to see if we can’t work our way and live through this storm … We can ill-afford right now to shut down our city.” On Thursday, Hawaii released specific data about Covid clusters on its website. “We’re up against something that’s bigger than we can deal with so it’s going to come down to choices and what makes you feel safe,” he said, urging people to take their holiday gatherings outdoors where Covid is unlikely to spread. “Many of us, maybe most of us, all of us, are going to have a close encounter with Covid over the next few weeks,” he said. “We’re not going to restrict or regulate ourselves out of this situation.” More Details About Clustersīlangiardi said he expects Covid cases to rise even more sharply after Christmas and emphasized that people should take personal responsibility for their decisions. Hirokazu Toiya, director the Honolulu Emergency Management Agency, urged people to be fully vaccinated and boosted and wear high-quality masks to be prepared for close contact with someone with Covid. ![]() ![]() Instead, his administration is emphasizing that people should get boosters. He pointed out that the city requires people who enter bars, restaurants and other establishments to show their vaccination cards or a negative Covid test result. ![]() “We’re not going to shut down any of the large gatherings right now,” he said. “That’s just a horrible idea right now.”īut Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi said Thursday that he wants to wait until hospitalizations rise significantly before imposing more restrictions. “From a public health standpoint it just does not make sense to have large gatherings right now,” she said, specifying that indoor crowded areas where people aren’t wearing masks are the highest risk. Libby Char, director of the health department, said Thursday that she thinks people should avoid large gatherings and the state is discussing restrictions. Mayor Rick Blangiardi speaks to media as he waits for the holiday tree to arrive at Honolulu Hale. ![]() Booster shots are the best defense against the omicron variant, but 60% of people eligible for boosters in Hawaii still haven’t gotten them, according to Brooks Baehr, spokesman for the health department. Hawaii reported more than 1,500 new coronavirus cases Thursday, the second-highest single-day Covid-19 count since state pandemic data was first recorded in March 2020.Ĭovid cases on Oahu are up 1059% over the last 14 days and are rising sharply in every county. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi doesn’t plan to shut down large gatherings despite concerns from the state Department of Health that crowded indoor events are contributing to the worst virus surge since the pandemic began. ![]()
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