Different types of free COVID sites remain open (file photo/featured Honolulu advertiser)
For Jan Hayashi, a resident of Kaimuki, all this with a headache in the middle of the workday.
Hayashi, 67, returned home early on June 3, took COVID-19 and tested positive. The symptoms temporarily evolved after that, he said, into chills, body aches, then a terrible, incessant cough and a transient loss of taste and smell.
It was the second time he tested positive for COVID and it was a depressing experience.
“I had it in 2022 and the symptoms were almost non-existent,” she said. “This time, (the symptoms) appeared temporarily and were very intense. “
Hayashi urges people to take all necessary precautions and wear a mask, as she continues to do in public spaces because she is immunocompromised, as it was a terrible experience that left her unconscious for several days.
Her doctor prescribed Paxlovid and thankfully she recovered, though she was recently able to resume her morning swim routine.
COVID cases in Hawaii continue to rise, with the state fitness department reporting an average of 175 new cases per day during the week of Wednesday.
Hawaii’s average positivity, or percentage of all positive tests, continued to rise to 16. 7% on Wednesday, up from 15. 9% last week. On the other hand, the average positivity rate on May 1 was only 4. 3%.
In Hônolulu, the average positivity is still above the state average, at 20. 1%.
Although no new COVID-related deaths were reported Wednesday, the number of citizens visiting emergency departments and landing in hospitals continued to rise.
The average number of hospitalized COVID patients in Hawaii reached 126 per day this week, the point since last August’s summer surge. On average, six COVID patients per day were in intensive care.
The percentage of patients who visited emergency departments with COVID in Hawaii also averaged 5. 0% on Friday, with a rate among citizens 75 and older.
“We’re still in an upward phase with some symptoms of slowing indicators, so we’ll peak in a week or two,” said Tim Brown, an infectious disease specialist at the East-West Center in Manoa. the next few months, or even a month and a half. “
He said people are taking precautions until circulating COVID levels subside.
This means wearing a mask in crowded places, improving ventilation, updating vaccinations, testing for symptoms or exposure, especially if you live with someone who is more vulnerable, and seeking remedy if the threat is greater.
“If you’re sick, stay home and don’t percentage the wealth of your workplace,” he said. “Not every person in the next chains of infection that you start in your painting or in your circle of family members will have a mild case and some of you could spread COVID for a long time, so stick around to protect others.
FestPAC Precautions
The surge in COVID activity began in May, when more immune-friendly “FLiRT” variants took hold in Hawaii.
The most recent Hawaii variant reports that the proportion of those variants (KP. 1. 1, KP. 2, KP. 3) has continued to grow on the islands over the past month.
The Hawaii lab also detected the LB. 1 variant, a descendant of JN. 1, by sequencing the genome of COVID-positive PCR control samples collected across the state.
The surge came as Hawaii hosted the highly anticipated FestPAC on Oahu, which drew about 500,000 attendees.
The festival was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the virus still had an impact.
The world’s largest birthday party for Pacific Island Indigenous peoples, which brought together delegates from 28 island nations for 10 days to share music, dance and culture, took place just as the surge was taking place.
On June 12, the Hawaii Department of Health suggested the public be vigilant due to high levels of COVID activity.
DOH’s new Respiratory Illness Activity Dashboard classified the COVID spot as red, indicating that the virus is circulating to a greater degree compared to old trends.
On Wednesday, the dashboard for classifying COVID was in the red.
Dr. Scott Miscovich of Premier Medical Group said the state Department of Health distributed thousands of loose COVID kits and handed out N95 masks to FestPAC attendees.
In addition, loose tests were conducted at the Stan Sheriff Center’s SimpliFi Arena and at the Hawai’i Convention Center in Waikiki, said Miscovich, who led the testing program.
In total, he said, about 500 tests were administered at the festival, resulting in a positivity rate of about thirteen percent. About a quarter of the positive cases occurred in Hawaii residents, while the rest were FestPAC participants.
Miscovich also hosted telehealth visits for other Paxlovid-eligible individuals, which were obtainable through state and federal resources. The number of ordinances he proposed was digits only.
Participants use the control kits, take precautions when they return home and monitor symptoms the next week, he said.
Hospital precautions
Most hospitals in Hawaii have reinstated mask precautions amid the outbreak.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii began requiring masks from all doctors, providers and members on Monday.
“We believe this additional protective measure is necessary at this time to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within our services and minimize spread in our community at large, which not only threatens the fitness and protection of vulnerable individuals, but may also lead to staffing shortages. This may have an effect on our ability to provide care,” Kaiser said in a statement.
Kaiser strongly encourages visitors, patients, and members to also wear masks when visiting their facilities. Masks may be needed in certain spaces, such as the NICU, oncology, and mother-baby spaces.
The Queen’s Health System requires caregivers to wear masks in all clinical spaces and is implementing additional checks, such as those on patients upon entry.
“The Queen’s Health System continues to monitor the SARS-CoV2 virus as variants and emerging trends,” spokesman Cedric Yamanaka said in a statement.
“From mid-May, we began to stumble upon an increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, in Australia and Asia, as well as in our state and within our physical care system. “
Statewide, the seven-day average has increased, he noted. Across the Queen fitness system, the number of COVID-positive patients stands at 33, and a handful of them have tested positive.
“Also, for the first time in a long time, we are seeing patients requiring intensive care due to the effects of the virus,” he said.
Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children also asks that all employees, patients and visitors wear masks “in designated care spaces affected by the backlog of pediatric hospitalizations due to viral infections. “
Patients at Hawaii Pacific gyms, such as Pali Momi and Straub Benioff Medical Center, can also ask staff to wear a mask at all times during their care.
Miscovich said she needed a mask five weeks ago because of the surge.
Patients who test positive for COVID use Paxlovid, he said, if they are 60 years of age or older, immunocompromised or have a higher fitness risk, which includes situations such as diabetes, asthma or obesity.
It also recommends that citizens get the updated COVID vaccine when it becomes available this fall, if possible until early September.
Hayashi is grateful to have had Paxlovid, which is preferably taken within the first five days of the onset of symptoms.
He said it gave his mouth a “rusty steel taste,” but it seemed to help. He took cherry cough drops to counteract the steely taste and was able to ease aches and pains with prescription cannabis.
And she continues to mask herself in public because she is immunocompromised due to liver disease.