Health

Indoor Mask Mandate Ending

Friday, March 18th, 2022

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Hawaii becomes the last state in the U.S. to lift its indoor mask mandate on March 25. Gov. David Ige announced the statewide mask requirement for inside settings will end this month. It will be the first time masks won’t be required indoors since April 2020. 

“Together, we have reduced COVID-19 in Hawaii to the point where most of us will be safe without masks indoors,” said Ige last week. “Right now, hospitalizations are trending down. Case counts are falling. We are better at treating people who are infected. Booster shots are saving lives. And the CDC has rated the state’s COVID-19 community level as ‘low.’…

COVID Mandates, Cases Drop

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

As COVID cases have sharply declined in recent weeks, so have Maui County’s mandates surrounding the virus. The state has yet to drop indoor masking and Safe Travels requirements but Maui County lifted its requirement to show proof of vaccination or testing for indoor service at restaurants, bars and gyms as of Feb. 21. Additionally, the county reopened two of its camping sites on Molokai as well as community centers for public events as of March 1. 

Dept. of Health data reports Molokai had five positive COVID cases between Friday, Feb. 18 and Friday, Feb. 25. The previous week logged 14 new cases. …

Cases Continue to Rise, Majority Have Mild Symptoms

Wednesday, January 26th, 2022

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai had a new single-day high COVID count record of 42 cases last week on Jan. 18. The island had 184 new cases last week alone between Friday, Jan. 14 and Friday, Jan. 21, according to Dept. of Health data last Sunday. Recent cases on island haven’t caused much increase in emergency room visits, however, according to Molokai General Hospital. 

“We have not had a significant uptick in people visiting the Emergency Dept. with COVID symptoms, thank goodness, and those we have seen, have not had symptoms serious enough to ship out,” said Janice Kalanihuia, president of Molokai General Hospital, on Friday.…

Case Spike Continues

Thursday, January 20th, 2022

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

COVID continued at an elevated rate last week, with 151 new COVID-19 cases on Molokai reported by the Dept. of Health between Jan. 7 and Jan. 14. The island has had 658 cases since the pandemic began, as of last Sunday. Statewide, Jan. 13 brought a new single-day record of 5,977 cases across the state, breaking the previous record high of 4,789 set on Jan. 6. 

On Molokai in the last week, there were 28 new cases on Jan. 14, 23 on Jan. 13, 13 on Jan. 12, 16 on Jan. 11, 19 on Jan. 10, 21 on Jan.…

253 New Cases in Past 2 Weeks

Thursday, January 13th, 2022

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai hit a pandemic record high daily case count two days in a row for the island last week with 33 new cases on Jan. 3 and 39 cases the following day. 

As of last Sunday’s Dept. of Health data, the island had 526 cases since the pandemic began, 253 of which have been recorded in the last two weeks, between Dec. 24 and Jan. 7. 

For those experiencing any symptoms, testing sites on Molokai include Lanikeha Community Center (make an appointment at alohaclear.com), Molokai Community Health Center, Molokai General Hospital and Molokai Drugs.

Booster shot eligibility has expanded to include a single Pfizer booster for everyone ages 12 to 17 who had their primary vaccination series at least five months ago, and for children ages 5 to 11 who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, the Dept.…

133 Molokai COVID Cases in 2 Weeks

Thursday, January 6th, 2022

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai, in line with the rest of the state, is in the midst of an unprecedented spike in COVID cases. Molokai has logged 133 cases in the last two weeks, between Dec. 19 and Dec. 31, according to Dept. of Health data current as of Sunday, Dec. 2. The island also recorded a pandemic record high case count in one day on Dec. 26 of 26 cases. Previously, the highest single-day case number was 12 in August. 

Hawaii as a state also logged its highest single-day case count of the pandemic on Dec. 28 with 3538 cases, as the Omicron variant sweeps across the country. …

COVID Cases Rising Again

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Molokai has seen a recent increase in COVID cases this month, logging 14 so far in December, according to the Dept. of Health as of Sunday. One new case was reported on Dec. 8, seven on Dec. 9, three on Dec. 10, two on Dec. 13 and one on Dec. 14. 

The DOH is urging residents to exercise caution and celebrate the holidays safely as COVID-19 is surging as a new COVID variant known as Omicron spreads into Hawaii and cases are already on the rise. Last Friday, the DOH reported 797 new COVID cases, the highest case count in more than three months.…

Omicron Variant in HI, County Restrictions Ease

Wednesday, December 8th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Last week, the Dept. of Health confirmed the presence of the COVID-19 variant known as Omicron in Hawaii. The State Laboratories Division performed whole genome sequencing on the specimen to confirm the variant, which was detected in an Oahu resident with no history of travel, showing a case of community spread. The person had previously been infected with COVID-19 but was not vaccinated. As of Dec. 3, the DOH was awaiting genome sequencing results of three other COVID cases that may also be Omicron variant. 

The Omicron variant has been detected in at least 23 countries and at least two other states so far.…