FDA Approves Quick Affordable saliva-based COVID-19 test
The Doomsday Rules in the General Excise Tax
GOP Congressman Calls on Leaders to Repudiate Q Anon Conspiracy Theory
COVID Count: 174 new cases out of 2,251 tests
Hawaii Mortgage Delinquencies Jump 5.25%
‘This is their fault’: Dr. Miscovich rips Hawaii DOH
KHON: … “This is the Department of Health’s failure,” Dr. Miscovich said. “This is not the people of Hawaii. The people of Hawaii are respectful. Sure there’s some that haven’t done everything they needed to do, but this is not from the people.”
The leading COVID-19 test administrator in Hawaii conducted more drive-thru testing at Kakaako Waterfront Park. He blames a lack of contact tracing and testing on the DOH’s demise from success in the early days of the pandemic to current levels, which have soared over 200 positive results for five days straight. Dr. Miscovich thinks the increase is still an undercount.
“This has nothing to do with better testing, the testing is actually worse. If we had adequate testing we would be finding right now that these numbers would be double what they are,” Dr. Miscovich said.
In July, Hawaii’s in-state lab capacity was drawn away by a spike on the continental United States, with reagent developer Roache pulling supplies to other regions….
“My estimation is that the true incidence and number of cases in our state right now is probably easily exceeding 500-700 could be exceeding 1,000 at any given time,” Dr. Miscovich said….
“The symptomatology that we’re seeing right now is fatigue, headache–they’re a little achy, very vague. Let alone a lot of the other people are asymptomatic. If you’re waiting until you have coughing, you’ve already spread it to another 10 or 15 people probably,” Dr. Miscovich said….
“We have to have complete change for everything we are doing in the state right now. What has been announced will not work.”…
(Hello? You need a professional telemarketing manager.)
read … ‘This is their fault’: Dr. Miscovich rips Hawaii DOH
Hawaii Health Director Bruce Anderson back on job after taking a few days off to ‘re-energize’
SA: … “Bruce Anderson is back at work after he chose to take a few days to rest and re-energize — he has been working non-stop since the start of the pandemic,” Okubo said. “All state employees accrue paid vacation and sick leave which they request to use at their own discretion and upon approval.”…
On Friday, Gabbard held a news conference with whistle blower Jennifer Smith, an epidemiological specialist/influenza surveillance and response coordinator at the Health Department. Smith alleged there were actually fewer than 10 contact tracers working on Oahu.
On Wednesday, department officials said they had about 100 contact tracers and are expanding that number.
The department did not immediately respond to the Star-Advertiser’s request today for an updated count.
National recommendations for contact tracers vary, but based on population counts some experts have estimated that Hawaii should have between 42o and 564 contact tracers responding to the pandemic….
read … Hawaii Health Director Bruce Anderson back on job after taking a few days off to ‘re-energize’
Maui: 28 MMMC hospital COVID-19 cases; 2 new at Hale Makua
MN: … Maui Memorial Medical Center confirmed 28 COVID-19 cases at the hospital as of midday Monday, with the majority being health care workers.
Meanwhile, Hale Makua Health Services reported two COVID-19 cases Monday, including one Kahului nursing home resident, who was recently released from MMMC, and one home patient.
Hospital spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda on Monday said that 17 staff members and 11 patients have COVID-19….
HNN: Maui Memorial faces uptick in COVID-19 cases, concern within its ranks
read … 28 MMMC hospital COVID-19 cases; 2 new at Hale Makua
Health Officials Knew COVID-19 Would Hit Pacific Islanders Hard. The State Still Fell Short
CB: … For the past four months, Eola Lokebol has been overwhelmed with calls from Marshallese families in Hawaii desperate for help because they or their loved ones have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Lokebol says parents have called her crying in the middle of the night because their children are hungry, but they are afraid they’ll be arrested or infect others if they leave to get food.
Others are terrified of making their grandparents and children sick as they wait days to hear back from the state about whether they will be provided a hotel room.
“It’s just been very chaotic,” says Lokebol, a Marshallese interpreter. “It’s been very frustrating for the families.”…
read … Health Officials Knew COVID-19 Would Hit Pacific Islanders Hard. The State Still Fell Short
Prisoners COVID Gambit Success, court orders massive release of inmates
HNN: … The court ordered that detainees charged with a misdemeanor — except those facing domestic violence counts — be released by Wednesday….
Additionally, the justices said inmates can only be released if they have not tested positive for COVID-19 and are not exhibiting any symptoms.
“Additional inmates who later meet these criteria shall be expeditiously released,” the court said.
Once released, they will be ordered into self-isolation for 14 days, the order states (LOL!) ….
read … As COVID-19 rages through state’s largest jail, court orders release of some inmates
Wai'anae houseless village –Leaders move themselves into permanent home
KITV: … The land also a handful of small donated structures (a donated tiny house and five container offices left behind by the previous landowner.) A small group of leaders moved there a month ago to slowly prepare the area. They spend the weekdays working on the new village, and the weekends overseeing the current encampment by the Wai'anae Boat Harbor.
"There are about nine adults and six kids, just to show presence. We are also clearing land to make way for the things to come," Borges related during a free event the film festival offered online on Monday, as a way for the public to connect with Kama'aina's cast and crew….
She raised $1.5 million dollars to buy the land. Now she's asking for donations to build on it….
read … Wai'anae houseless village moving forward with permanent home, despite COVID-19 slowdowns
Pitfalls ahead for all-mail voting
SA: … Inevitably, some people didn’t get the message: More than 900 ballots missed the deadline and won’t be counted. Voters had until Aug. 14 to correct problems with their ballot signatures — but overall turnout was expected to stand around 48%….
In Hawaii, officials are watching to gauge their next steps. The state elections office here and its counterparts in 45 other states have received letters from Thomas J. Marshall, USPS executive vice president and general counsel, warning about the possibility of late delivery of completed ballots.
Fortunately, Hawaii’s cautionary note was mild. The “vast majority” of Hawaii voters should have time to meet deadlines, Marshall wrote, but he added that mailing back ballots a week in advance of the general election, by Oct. 27, would be recommended.
The Office of Elections does intend to revise its advisory that ballots be mailed five days in advance and now would urge that post offices get them “at least a week prior,” said spokeswoman Nedielyn Bueno.
Election administrators for each county also should consider whether enough drop-off boxes are accessible on each island as alternative ways to dispatch ballots in the event that the postal service is under duress….
read … Pitfalls ahead for all-mail voting
DOE Struggles To Get Students The Technology They Need For Online Learning
CB: … The department is spending millions of dollars on laptops and mobile hotspots for low-income families but some devices have yet to arrive….
SA: Public schools get unusual start to new academic year
KHON: What parents need to know as distance learning begins
read … DOE Struggles To Get Students The Technology They Need For Online Learning
Auto sales careened downhill 41.8% in the second quarter
SA: … Hawaii auto sales plunged 41.8% in the second quarter as the work-from-home labor force, a near standstill in tourism, the closure of most recreational activities and a quarter million people unemployed left the industry parked on the side of the road.
The COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted the state economy pushed down new vehicle registrations 24.1% through midyear, according to a report released Friday by Hawaii Auto Outlook.
New vehicle registrations are forecast to decline 25% for the full year before rebounding 8.1% in 2021, the report said….
read … Auto sales careened downhill 41.8% in the second quarter
TV Anchor Joe Moore Stuns Viewers With Dubious Report On COVID-19
CB: … The popular longtime newscaster aired what he calls a legitimate study that shows the coronavirus originated as a Chinese bioweapon….
BJR: "Did You Know…”?
read … TV Anchor Joe Moore Stuns Viewers With Dubious Report On COVID-19
Ex-CIA officer from Hawaii charged with providing secrets to China in case out of ‘spy novel’
SA: … A former CIA officer has been charged with providing secrets to China over the course of a decade in a case that a top Justice Department official described as coming straight from a “spy novel.”
The former CIA officer who was also an FBI linguist, Alexander Yuk Chung Ma, a 67-year-old resident of Hawaii, was arrested Friday in Hawaii and charged with conspiring to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government, the Justice Department said. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
An FBI affidavit alleges an 85-year-old Los Angeles man, a relative of Ma’s and also a former CIA officer, acted as a conspirator but was not charged because he suffers from a “debilitating cognitive disease.” ….
PDF: Affidavit in espionage case against Alexander Yuk Ching Ma
read … Ex-CIA officer from Hawaii charged with providing secrets to China in case out of ‘spy novel’
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