2nd COVID Death in Hawaii
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UHERO: What is the COVID-19 exit strategy?
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First Federal COVID Grants Aid Hawaii Homeless, Mass Transit
States with the Biggest Increase in Unemployment--Hawaii 15th
10,000 COVID Tests: Hawaii Among Most Tested States
SA: … State Health Director Bruce Anderson said that more than 10,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted, mostly by the private sector. This puts Hawaii among the Top 3 states for testing per capita — impressive, yes, but not an indication it will be enough to understand the full dimensions of the spread.
The state also continues its community surveillance, testing 380 negative flu samples between March 1 and 24. One positive result for the coronavirus was found — evidence of “limited and localized” spread of the virus on Oahu — and officials expect many more cases to come.
Private companies are racing to develop tests that can detect the coronavirus, and we may even reach a point where anyone who wants a test can get one…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency authorization for a quick-result test from Abbott Laboratories that can detect the coronavirus within five minutes. An on-the-spot test would be a vital tool in ICUs and at Hawaii’s airports, where infected passengers could be diverted before they reach the general population…..
read … Expanded testing can be valuable
Agenda: Mass Release of Criminals Will Make COVID Crisis Feel Real
WHT: … Hawaii Community Correctional Center, frequently the state’s most crowded jail, is also the one that will release the most inmates under a plan being worked out between the state Public Defender’s Office and county prosecutors.
The release of 197 inmates is being proposed for HCCC, the Big Island’s only jail. That compares to 136 at Oahu’s jail, 45 on Maui, 44 on Kauai and five at Oahu’s women’s jail, according to a spokesman at the Public Defender’s Office….
“There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the prisons or jails.”….
Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth…filed an answer with the court opposing mass releases of inmates….
read … Crime Wave Coming
Corona Crisis = Risk + Opportunism
Waikiki doctors to offer blood test that detects exposure to COVID-19
KITV: … Private practices like this one dictate their own protocol for COVID-19 testing, and Dr. T says he tests as many people as he can.
"10 percent of the people I've checked were positive so that tells me 10 percent of the community might have this disease,” said Dr. T, adding that many of the patients have very mild symptoms. “It tells me we might have amongst us vectors, or infectious people that don't know they're sick, passing the disease onto others."
It's why he's offering a 10-minute blood test that could identify people who've had the virus and have built immunity against it. The clinic expects the tests to come in this week and to start a pop-up clinic soon.
"If you've been in contact with the virus in the past two weeks, it will have a positive result saying that you have antibodies, to both IgM or IgG antibodies which can give us an idea of how soon you were infected," he said.
The idea is to give anyone at risk a blood test. Anyone with positive readings will get the traditional nasal swab test to confirm if they have COVID-19.
Community physician Dr. Jim Ireland calls the test "huge" -- saying it's another tool clinicians can use to diagnose quickly and accurately.
But some in the medical community note its limitations. Dr. Edward Desmond of the Hawaii State Laboratories Division told KITV-4 the tests could be misleading, saying "At the moment we are not encouraging the adoption of blood testing methods."
Dr. T claims the test is 98% accurate, and when dealing with a new disease, doctors are learning as they go. That's what happened with experimental drugs like hydroxychloroquine, used to treat coronavirus patients and now approved for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration.
The priority is to test and test a lot. If you want to get tested for COVID-19 through a nasal swab test or a blood test (when they're available), contact Doctors of Waikiki. The clinic is open 8am-midnight daily inside the Sheraton Princess Ka'iulani at 120 Ka'iulani Avenue….
Background: Blood Test Provides Instant COVID Results—Rejected by Hawaii DoH
read … Waikiki doctors to offer blood test that detects exposure to COVID-19
Pandemic speeds up construction start on master-planned village for the homeless
HNN: … Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a non-profit that specializes in creating housing for the homeless has started construction on a master-planned village in Kalaeloa.
“This is 100 square feet of interior living space,” said Hale Partners owner, Jake Johnson. “We have double wall construction, insulation.”
Soon, the tiny house will end someone’s homelessness.
Each one takes about 50 hours to build. And the best part is the first 21 units have been paid for entirely through donations.
It’s part of a new Kauhale village going up next door to US Vets homeless shelter in Kalaeloa. The permanent community will feature 36 tiny homes -- and that’s only part of it.
“There will be bathrooms, showers, laundry, a commercial kitchen, a community lounge and a health clinic,” said Nani Medeiros….
All 21 of the donated homes will be built off-site and transported to the Kauhale….
read … Pandemic speeds up construction start on master-planned village for the homeless
Navy envisions major development near Pearl Harbor rail station
SA: … The Navy, as part of an ambitious public-private partnership, envisions a major development near a future rail station that includes 2.3 million square feet of low-, medium- and high-rise residential and commercial space, a high-rise hotel and pedestrian walkways over the H-1 Freeway and Kamehameha Highway connecting it all with Pearl Harbor.
“It’s exciting to see, really, the potential of this transformative project,” Capt. Darren Guenther, chief of staff for Navy Region Hawaii, said at a recent developers’ conference for the “higher-density” project.
Guenther noted that over 25,000 people stream through base gates every day, including Makalapa gate near the planned rail station on Kamehameha Highway…..
Some 78 individuals representing multiple companies participated March 18 in a Department of the Navy developers’ conference webinar — “signaling strong interest in the public-private partnership proposal to reimagine approximately 70 acres of land adjacent to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,” Naval Facilities Hawaii said.
Of that total, 64 participated virtually and 14 were present for the conference while “strictly adhering” to social distancing measures, the Navy said.
The nearby Halawa/Aloha Stadium transit station “provides a unique opportunity” to leverage options for transit-oriented development with an “entertainment district” including not only the stadium but retail, residential and hotel accommodations, a state report said in August….
The “underutilized” Navy sites proposed for redevelopment include the 13-acre Little Makalapa parcel adjacent to the planned rail station across from Pearl Harbor, and a nearby 57-acre Naval Facilities Hawaii site across Radford Drive from the Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange….
read … Navy envisions major development near Pearl Harbor rail station
Meadow Gold Hawaii to be sold to Los Angeles real estate investment firm
SA: … Meadow Gold parent Dean Foods Co., announced today that it reached an agreement in principal for Industrial Realty Group LLC to purchase Meadow Gold as an ongoing business….
The deal includes Meadow Gold facilities in Honolulu and Hilo. Dean Foods also said that Industrial Realty will be partnering with 8 Cow Dairies, a Hawaii company formed last year, to manage operations….
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle for our Meadow Gold Hawaii facilities and that Industrial Realty Group intends to continue these facilities on an ongoing basis,” Eric Beringause, Dean Foods president and CEO, said in a statement. …
Industrial Realty is known for retrofitting obsolete facilities and finding new uses for them, but also assists corporations in becoming more efficient in the use of their facilities.
The Meadow Gold sale is subject to approval by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge. Dean Foods expects the sale of Meadow Gold and numerous other subsidiaries with tentative sale agreements to close by the end of April….
FB: Sen Kurt Fevella Helps Deal
read … Meadow Gold Hawaii to be sold to Los Angeles real estate investment firm
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