More COVID-19 tests and vaccinations now available on Oahu

Access to COVID-19 testing on Oahu is being expanded in response to skyrocketing community demand for testing and vaccinations as Hawaii undergoes a record surge of COVID-19 infections that reached its highest peak yet with Sunday’s count of 2,205 cases.

The state Department of Health is expanding access to free testing on Oahu through January 15 to bridge the winter holidays, and The Queen’s Health Systems expanded hours for vaccinations at its Neal Blaisdell Center clinic.

“Any time case counts escalate we see testing rise, and demand for COVID testing has skyrocketed,” DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr said in a phone interview Monday.

“Today as a result from tests conducted Saturday, Christmas Day, we had 1,384 positive cases — by far and away the biggest number we’ve ever reported on a Monday, up more than 544 cases compared to last Monday,” Baehr said, “and sadly, we have been breaking daily records every day.”

“DOH recognizes the importance of providing increased testing capacity to families and the community, especially while school testing programs are paused during the winter break,” Health Director Elizabeth Char said in a statement Sunday, adding, “school-aged children and their families are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and test for COVID-19 before returning to school.”

The bridge testing program will provide capacity for 2,000 additional tests a day: Starting January 2, testing will be offered at the Carpenters Training Center in Kapolei from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and bridge testing is currently available from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. daily at the Waikiki Shell, and at the Blaisdell Arena Sunday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Bridge testing sites at the Waikiki Shell, Neal Blaisdell Center and Kapolei will offer testing on a first-come, first-served basis, and anyone not in line will be turned away one hour before closing, according to DOH’s testing website, alohaclear.com.

While walk-ins will be accepted, pre-registration at AlohaClear.com is recommended.

In addition to bridge testing, other free community testing is being offered by DOH, in partnership with the Kidney Foundation and independent pharmacies, at a total of 23 sites statewide, with 13 sites on Oahu; four on Hawaii Island; one on Kauai; two each on Maui and Molokai; and one site on Lanai.

DOH advises anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, even mild symptoms, to stay home from work, school and other activities and get tested, as should anyone who is a close contact of a known COVID-19-positive person, regardless of vaccination status.

And if you think you might have been exposed, don’t wait for DOH contact tracers to let you know before taking action, Baehr said.

“Please quarantine yourself and notify your close contacts, because with case counts the way they are, we aren’t going to be able to notify everyone in a timely manner,” even with 367 contact tracers working statewide, 240 of them on Oahu, he said

Testing centers provide RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) testing.

You can also use an online finder tool to locate other free and paid testing centers and pop-up sites, as well as rapid antigen self-tests sold at pharmacies, at hawaii covid19.com/testing — but be persistent, as availability is always changing, Baehr said.

“Late last week, some pharmacies told me they had home test kits, and some said they were on order,” he said, “so my advice is, keep trying.”

He added that because tests are being “gobbled up quickly,” it was all the more important to “do everything we can to avoid being infected: mask up, keep social distance, avoid crowds, avoid the temptation to gather in big parties on New Year’s Eve, and please go get your booster shot now, which will give you up to 75% protection and protect against serious illness and death.”

The Queen’s Health Systems has seen a “huge increase” in demand for vaccinations with more than 1,000 vaccinations, most of them booster doses, being administered each day across its clinics, Mary Bedell, director of vaccination clinics, announced at a news conference at Blaisdell Center Monday.

In response to the growing cases of COVID-19 in the community, Queen’s is expanding hours this week at its Blaisdell vaccination clinic from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, she said.

Bedell said walk-ins are now accepted without an appointment, although appointments are recommended, at the Blaisdell Center, Queen’s-West Oahu and Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital vaccination clinics. For hours and dates and to make an appointment, visit covid.queens.org/vaccine-clinics or call 808-691-2222.

There are more than 200,000 vaccine doses available at 516 sites statewide, Baehr said. To find a location, visit hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine.