(BIVN) – The Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense agency reported no change in active COVID-19 cases on Hawaiʻi island in a Thursday morning radio message. The number stands at nine (9). Here is the full message:

On today’s update of COVID-19, the number of active cases, monitored by the Department of Health, is nine.

The majority of states in our Country continue to see an increase of people being infected by the Coronavirus. Hawaii State remains in a good place, as noted by Johns Hopkins University as the best in the Country, having the lowest number of people infected by the virus. This is mainly due to your following the preventive policies of wearing face coverings, distancing, gatherings, and cleanliness. As we go forward, do take care in protecting yourself, your family, your friends and your community to keep Hawaii safe.

For your information, coronavirus testing is available today in North Kona at the Keauhou Shopping Center. Hours are from 9:00 this morning ‘til 12:00 Noon. Thank you Alii Health for providing this service and the Hawaii National Guard and County Task Force for helping.

Thank you for listening and thank you for your help.

This morning, Hawaiʻi Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard called on Governor David Ige to continue the 14-day quarantine in effect for trans-Pacific travelers. Governor Ige previously stated he planned to allow transpacific travelers to Hawaiʻi to bypass the 14-day quarantine starting on August 1, if they first show proof that they were tested for COVID-19 with negative results.

“I strongly urge the Governor and mayors of Hawai‘i counties to continue the 14-day quarantine for trans-Pacific travelers because of the surge of COVID-19 infections occurring across the country, with many states experiencing a higher number of positive COVID-19 cases now than at any point during this pandemic,” Rep. Gabbard stated. “In addition, we are facing an extreme shortage in testing reagents, personal protective equipment, and medical supplies. We must put the health and lives of the people of Hawai‘i first and take necessary actions to contain and defeat this virus in our state. The travel quarantine must remain in place for the time being as we focus on containing and defeating the virus, massively increasing our testing and tracing capacity, and securing our medical supply chains. These steps are essential to get to a place where the people of Hawai‘i can be confident that travelers coming to our state will not bring greater risk and COVID-19 infections with them.”

UPDATE – (2 p.m.) – Governor David Ige issued this statement Thursday afternoon on continued COVID-19 planning with the county mayors. “The mayors and I met yesterday and are meeting again today to assess the current situation and discuss what it might mean for the state, including the planned pre-travel testing program,” Governor Ige said. “We are getting input from community leaders as we carefully consider the health and safety of our residents and the financial health of our communities because we know they are interconnected.”