(BIVN) – Lieutenant Governor Josh Green shared an encouraging message with the public on Monday concerning the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hawaiʻi.

“You are doing a great job, an absolutely great job,” Green told Hawaiʻi residents during a press conference on Monday. “It is phenomenal what’s being accomplished,” he said, as he held up a paper showing only 4 newly reported cases statewide. “We’ve got zero cases on Oʻahu today, which is something actually to be astounded by.”

Green, a physician and former Big Island state senator, offered a positive viewpoint on the Hawai‘i statistics during a press conference on Monday. Some of the highlights, provided in a later email:

• 0.7% mortality rate, second lowest in the United States behind Wyoming
• 15% use of ventilators in the state
• 584 people have tested positive, 423 have been released from isolation, a 72.4% recovery rate

“I know people are getting anxious to get back to ‘normal.’ I want to acknowledge that I am so impressed and pleased with the way our residents have stepped up for each other to help prevent a catastrophic surge of cases in our state,” Green said.

The Lieutenant Governor held up another paper with a number that earlier models projected: 4,479 dead in Hawaiʻi due to COVID-19.

“That’s the number of individuals that would have passed away, that would have died in the state of Hawaiʻi, based on that model,” Green said, “had we not taken the advice of the [Governor David Ige], had we not made these sacrifices that you’re making at home. Instead, 10 people have died.”

4,479 deaths, Green said, “is what would have happened if we had had a surge, and it probably would have surged to a peak sometime last week. Now, we’re not out of the woods yet. There’s obvious concern still and we have a lot of planning to do.”

“We did a great job of flattening this curve, but there is a risk of additional spikes in cases if we’re not careful. We are diligently working to ensure we reopen Hawaii in a careful, thoughtful way that keeps people healthy and safe while jumpstarting our economy as much as possible,” Green said.