HONOLULU — The state Department of Health on Thursday reported 18 new cases of the coronavirus, the biggest single-day increase in two months.
That brings Hawaii’s total number of confirmed cases to 762. The number of people who have died remained unchanged at 17.
There were 21 new cases reported on April 18.
All of the recent cases were diagnosed in Honolulu and 15 were Hawaii residents, while the residency of the other three remained under investigation, the state said.
The City and County of Honolulu now has 523 reported cases while Maui County has 120 and Kauai County 21. Hawaii County’s total is at 83 cases, with 81 released from isolation.
“This spike in cases and other recent daily spikes have been expected as people begin to move around more freely and more businesses are reopening,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park. “It’s important to point out, that the vast majority of the cases we’re seeing in the state are being spread by what we call community-associated infection. Only a handful of recent cases have been detected in travelers, known as travel-associated infection.”
Health officials were investigating a confirmed case for someone working at the state Capitol. They say the risk of infection to others is low because the House Majority Staff Office worker wore a mask at work and stayed home when symptoms first developed.
“The staff member and all … staff were immediately excused to work from home,” House Speaker Scott Saiki said, adding the House is “working closely with (Park) and the Department of Health on contact tracing of HMSO employees.”
House leaders say the person wore a mask at work and stayed home when symptoms first developed, so the risk of infection to others is low.
The building will remain closed to the public though the Legislature is scheduled to go back into session on Monday.
“The House is committed to ensuring the safety and health of all legislators and employees at the Capitol,” Saiki said. “We will continue enforcing safe practices including social distancing, daily temperature screenings by National Guard members, and modified work procedures.”
Meanwhile, residents and staff of the Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Honolulu were being monitored and re-tested after two workers and eight residents tested positive for the virus.
The facility implemented aggressive infection control measures as an immediate response to the initial case. Active monitoring and repeat testing is being performed, as recommended by DOH, for all residents and staff. So far, 307 tests of staff have come back negative.
“When there has been exposure in a health care setting like this, resulting increase in infections are possible and unfortunate, but not unexpected,” said Dr. Sarah Kemble, deputy state epidemiologist. “We could continue to see a number of new cases over the next two weeks.”
