Using Extensive Testing and Geographical Isolation to Mitigate the Coronavirus Crisis in Hawaii
The Agony of Restaurant Workers
Blood Test Provides Instant COVID Results—Rejected by Hawaii DoH
Lead. Grant relief. Don’t take more. Please.
MD: Chloroquine Widely Prescribed against COVID-19
Killing the economy kills people
Hawaii Congressional Delegation How They Voted March 28, 2020
MD: We Need to Test—There is no Shortage of materials
SA: … Miscovich, an internist who leads Premier Medical Group Hawaii, said broad testing of the community will help keep the virus from spreading and there are enough kits to continue with such testing.
“There is a massive misconception that is being perpetuated through all sources that there is a massive shortage of testing materials and swabs,” he said. “That is not true” in Hawaii, he said.
He said he spoke with the presidents of two private labs — Diagnostic Laboratory Services and Clinical Labs of Hawaii — and found the state is “well-stocked” with 10 to 14 days of testing materials. He said the biggest risk is someone going untested in a typical multigenerational Hawaii family and spreading the disease unnecessarily.
“We need to test,” he said. “There are enough supplies.” …
read … About 260 people screened in Waipahu as drive-thru coronavirus testing ramps up
Ramp up the science and testing to defeat coronavirus
SA: … South Korea aggressively tested its citizens for COVID-19 and fevers. Positive tests led to mandated quarantining and identifying contacts. Further restrictions were applied to the most sensitive citizens. It worked, flattening the curve because they comprehensively diagnosed and separated the infected people.
Hawaii should adopt this approach. Instead, our testing efforts are woefully inadequate, turning people away. Good news: More and faster tests are coming. The most accurate tests detect the viral RNA genes using RT-PCR in a couple hours. New point-of-care tests use ELISA on a small drop of blood to detect antibodies against the virus in a few minutes….
Patients with severe infections need effective treatments. Some drugs approved for other diseases can be repurposed to fight COVID-19. The viral replication inhibitor, Favipiravir, could be a game-changer. Originally discovered in Japan, but not yet approved in the U.S., it is undergoing clinical trials in China. Patients on the drug cleared the virus in four versus 11 days for those not on it, and recovered from fever in 2.5 versus 4.2 days, and spent less time on the ventilator….
But a few months, plus time to produce adequate quantities, are still too long for a sick person to wait for a drug. Available now is the anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, which is a newer and safer derivative of the older chloroquine. Australian scientists reported that chloroquine dissipated virus counts in infected subjects. In the U.S., the CDC describes small clinical trials with hydroxychloroquine alone and in combination with the antibiotic, azithromycin, as dramatically lowering COVID-19 in the upper respiratory tract vs. untreated subjects. Anecdotally, actor Daniel Dae Kim and others expounded that hydroxychloroquine hastened their recoveries….
The COVID-19 urgency demands that hydroxychloroquine should be administered before the perfect trial results are in. It seems that the FDA is listening. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York, which as of Friday has the highest infections (46,015) and deaths (519) in the U.S., has obtained 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine and 750,000 doses of chloroquine, as well as azithromycin. The trial began last Tuesday with a lessening of the FDA restrictions.
David Christopher, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Hawaii’s Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering Department; he chaired the department for eight years
read … Ramp up the science and testing to defeat coronavirus
Green vs Ige: Fight over Testing
Borreca: … Although Ige and Green said they were a team, they quickly clashed when the coronavirus pandemic forced the state to make major unpopular policy changes. Green called for greater social distancing, more testing and stricter ways to stop the disease.
Green’s message was aggressive and he refused to back down.
“Can you imagine for one second that I’m not going to fight for one second to save lives?” Green asked in testimony last week before the Big Island County Council.
“I do my best to share what I think will save lives, and if they don’t accept that, I share it with the entire planet and then they catch up later. … I refuse to not be heard.”
That stood in contrast to Ige, who had been criticized for reacting slowly, with indecision and lacking firm, broad public controls against the virus.
After reports of Ige going passive-aggressive against Green, there was an immediate social media reaction against Ige, forcing the governor to have a long night meeting with Green. Afterward, Green said, “The governor and I had a very constructive meeting to clarify my role in the COVID-19 response and I greatly appreciated it. Our styles, as people know, are somewhat different. He is a smart, deliberative engineer and I am an emergency room doc. I expect these differences in style and approach will complement each other as we fight to stop the virus together.”
At best, a shaky truce that is likely to rupture.
For Ige, his only path forward is damage control, while for Green, who wants to win the governorship in 2022, his control panel is showing, “All systems go, clear for take-off.”
Shapiro: If the coronavirus hasn’t driven you bonkers yet, this might help
read … Tango or tangle? Relationship between governor, lieutenant governor can be delicate dance
Virus is the Solution to all of our ‘Problems’
Cataluna: … As nightmarish as this pandemic is, it also has managed to wipe away, at least temporarily, some intractable problems that Hawaii has been struggling with for years, like the plot of some old “Twilight Zone” episode when the community gets too cavalier about taking care of their town or looking out for one another and then some outside force shows up to teach folks a hard lesson….
The dreadful traffic problems that steadily became the new normal of Hawaii life are gone, too, now that most people are staying home and only going out for food and essentials. And what a shock to realize that sea of rental cars that washed up in the Aloha Stadium parking lot is normally all out on our roads, clogging up Haleiwa, parking crazy in Lanikai, abruptly changing lanes on the H-1 trying to get to Waikiki.
All those illegal vacation rentals have become empty houses and empty rooms, their stubborn landlords probably wishing they were leasing to a local family who could scrape together a monthly rent from savings and stimulus checks and Mom, who is an essential worker.
In the recent past, too many people were coming home from work to find their house had been burglarized while they were away, but everybody is home to watch over their stuff now.
The beaches are suddenly empty, some probably for the first time in 100 years. The hiking trails aren’t being trampled. There’s no tour-helicopter noise buzzing overhead and no little motorized danger-carts weaving crazily in and out of traffic along Kalanianaole.
A shelter for homeless people who test positive for COVID-19 has been created so quickly, almost like magic — something that had seemed impossible up until now. It took a threat this terrible to get 60 medical beds set aside for homeless.
And then, there is this. For all the Hawaii residents weary to the bone working multiple jobs, running all over the place to support our ambitions for our kids, chasing the dream of more and better, there is this forced time of rest….
read … Quarantine gives us time to reflect on what truly matters
Honolulu firefighter, police officer tested positive for COVID-19
KHON: … According to the president of HFFA, the firefighter is with fire station 32 Kalihi Uka. He is self-isolating at home. No one else at his station is showing signs of any symptoms.
The Honolulu Fire Department confirmed the positive case and said that the firefighter was on personal leave when the virus was contracted. No other personnel has been exposed to the virus….
As for the police officer, an official with the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers says that he is stationed out of the Honolulu Police Department headquarters. The officer is self-isolating. No one who worked closely with him is showing any symptoms.
Officials say that it is an isolated incident and that the officer did not catch the virus on the job. HPD made sure to decontaminate all of his work areas.
Some other officers were tested, but results are still pending….
read … Honolulu firefighter, police officer tested positive for COVID-19
Recent crime include multiple reports of domestic violence
KHON: … Recent crime reports from the Honolulu Police Department revealed multiple cases of domestic violence.
From March 12 to March 27, there were four reported domestic abuse cases on Oahu. These cases happened in Kapolei, Kalihi, Ewa Beach, and Waikiki.
Three of the cases ended in the arrest of the suspect, and one case in Ewa Beach led police to charge the suspect with murder and attempted murder.
On March 12, police say that a 25-year-old man punched a 24-year-old woman in the presence of a child under the age of 14 in Kapolei. The woman reported the incident to officers who were serving the suspect with a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). He was arrested for felony abuse.
In Kalihi, a married couple was arguing over changing the baby’s diaper on March 20. HPD said that the husband then punched the woman in the arm. This reportedly happened in front of a child less than 14-years-old. He remains in police custody for family abuse.
In Waikiki, a 39-year-old woman reported to the police that she was being physically abused by her 31-year-old boyfriend. Police arrested him for abuse-strangulation on March 27.
In a fatal incident in the Ewa Beach area, a 21-year-old man was charged in connection to a double-homicide. HPD says that officers found a woman and her 6-month-old son dead with injuries that were supposedly from a stabbing. Kendall Ramsey was charged on March 27 with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree attempted murder.
KHON previously reported that the stay-at-home order may put people in abusive relationships in even more danger….
read …Recent crime include multiple reports of domestic violence
Will Feds’ Relief Package Be Enough To Keep Hawaii’s Small Businesses Afloat?
CB: … The package includes $377 billion for small businesses. Loan money spent on payroll and rent for the next two months doesn’t have to be paid back….
SA: In the unemployment-benefit arena especially, it’s generous, extending to more beneficiaries, and with an additional $600 put in the checks.
read … Will Feds’ Relief Package Be Enough To Keep Hawaii’s Small Businesses Afloat?
Residents And Policymakers Battle Over Hawaii Wind Energy Projects
CB: …Some policymakers want to keep wind turbines away from homes but energy developers say there’s not much room to maneuver on a small island….
read … Residents And Policymakers Battle Over Hawaii Wind Energy Projects
Hawaii National Guard soldiers in Afghanistan avoid Pentagon’s ‘stop movement’ order amid coronavirus pandemic
SA: … The majority of about 350 Hawaii National Guard soldiers who were deployed to Afghanistan just squeaked by a new 60-day overseas “stop movement” order by the Pentagon and are at Fort Bliss, Texas, going through demobilization, officials said today.
“The soldiers from the 1-487th Field Artillery, Hawaii Army National Guard, have made it out of the (U.S. Central Command) area of operations,” the Hawaii Guard said. “… The soldiers will be quarantined at Fort Bliss for 14 days, but they are extremely happy to be on American soil.”
They will have to self-quarantine for another 14 days in Hawaii when they return in several weeks….
read … Hawaii National Guard soldiers in Afghanistan avoid Pentagon’s ‘stop movement’ order amid coronavirus pandemic
Corona Virus News
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