graphic by BIVN

This story, which we published earlier under the headline COVID-19 Update From Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, has been updated to reflect a jump in new cases reported at noon on Thursday.

(BIVN) – There were twenty (20) new cases of COVID-19 reported in the State of Hawaiʻi on Thursday at noon, with three (3) of the new cases identified on Hawaiʻi island. The remainder of the new cases were identified on Oʻahu.

Hawaiʻi island has now counted 90 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Only four (4) of those 90 cases are active.

A zip code area map for Hawaiʻi that shows reported cases with onset dates in the past 28 days was updated by the health department on Thursday. The map shows new cases identified in the Kohala and Kona zip code areas.

UPDATED – Earlier this morning, the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense reported three (3) active cases of COVID-19, and in a radio message touched upon the growing number of cases in the United States.

Here is the full statement:

On today’s update of COVID-19, the number of active cases monitored by the Department of Health, on Hawaii Island, is three. Of this, one is hospitalized. All three are travel related which emphasizes the importance of exercising caution of traveling.

As reported, the majority of states in our country are continuing to see an increase of large numbers of people being infected by the Coronavirus. Hawaii remains in a very good place because of your care of following preventive measures. You are asked to continue and even get better in following the health policies of keeping Hawaii safe. This is a community issue and we need your help. Please follow the preventive measures of face coverings, distancing, gatherings, and cleanliness while you celebrate on this Fourth of July weekend. It is all of our responsibility to keep Hawaii safe.

We must all do our part to keep our community safe as we celebrate our Independence Day.

Hawaiʻi Passenger Arrivals By Air

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority also reported on Thursday that the number of arrivals to Hawaiʻi on Wednesday surpassed 2,000. The authority wrote:

Today marks 14 weeks since the state’s mandatory 14-day self-quarantine started for all passengers arriving in Hawaii from out of state. Yesterday, 2,424 people arrived in Hawaii. During this same time last year approximately 35,000 passengers arrived in Hawaii daily, including residents and visitors. This table shows the number of people who arrived by air from out of state yesterday and does not include interisland travel. This data was collected from the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Mandatory Travel Declaration Form.