Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, infecting Mayor Rick Blangiardi

The number of new COVID-19 infections in Hawaii is ticking upward as BA.2, the more contagious subvariant of omicron, grows in the islands and after restrictions have been dropped.

Although Hawaii’s community risk level is still considered low by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the COVID-19 threat remains present — just ask Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

Blangiardi, 75, tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday morning. He is isolating and resting at home, and is in good spirits despite experiencing mild symptoms, according to a news release from the Mayor’s Office. Blangiardi is fully vaccinated and boosted against the coronavirus, the release said.

He is expected to remain out of the office until sometime after the Easter holiday, and his office is in the process of contacting those who had close contact with the mayor in the past few days.

On Monday, Blangiardi attended a news conference announcing the full return of the city’s Summer Fun Program, followed by a proclamation ceremony recognizing the city’s emergency dispatchers for Telecommunications Week.

He is the third mayor in Hawaii to contract the coronavirus. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino tested positive in January and Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth tested positive in December.

On Wednesday, the state Department of Health reported 1,327 new infections over the previous week, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 243,299. Eight more deaths were reported for a total of 1,390.

The average positivity rate statewide was 4.9% Wednesday, DOH said, compared to 4% on April 6. On Oahu, the average positivity rate climbed to 5.6%.

By island, there were 941 new infections reported on Oahu, 160 on Hawaii island, 130 on Maui, 55 on Kauai, nine on Lanai, and five on Molokai, with another 27 cases diagnosed out of state.

The Health Department’s weekly variant report, posted Wednesday, shows the BA.2 now makes up 70% of new coronavirus cases in Hawaii.

In the rest of the U.S., case spikes have been occurring in the Northeast, particularly in New York City and Washington, D.C., with BA.2 now accounting for about 86% of all new cases nationwide.

Still, hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19 in Hawaii remained low at 29 on Wednesday, with only two in intensive care and none on ventilators, according to the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard. It was a slight increase from last week, when hospitalizations were at 26.

Citing low hospitalization rates, Gov. David Ige said Monday during his appearance on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program that he was not planning to reinstate the state’s indoor mask mandate at this time. By Wednesday, that had not changed.

“I don’t anticipate reinstating the mask mandate at this point,” Ige reiterated in a statement. “We did expect a slight increase in case numbers after spring break, and we have seen that in the last week or so. However, we are not seeing the kind of surges that are currently happening on the mainland. Hospitalizations continue to be low here, and we are in a good place.”

Ige added, “If there is a big spike, we may have to revisit masks. However, I noticed over the weekend that many people continue to wear their masks indoors. We know that masks work and they make a difference in keeping our communities safe.”

The city’s COVID-19 restrictions, including Safe Access O‘ahu, which required proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter restaurants, bars, gyms and other establishments, ended March 5. By then, the three other major counties had already dropped their pandemic-related rules.

Ige’s COVID-19 emergency proclamation, which included the indoor mask mandate and screening requirements and restrictions for domestic travelers, expired March 25.

Earlier this week, Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate after confirmed coronavirus cases there rose more than 50% in 10 days.

On Wednesday, the CDC extended a nationwide mask mandate for public transit to May 3. That means the Transportation Security Administration will continue to enforce the rule for planes and transit hubs, including Hawaii’s airports.

Tim Brown, epidemiologist at the East-West Center in Manoa, said Hawaii is “clearly in a rising phase of the epidemic.”

The state’s seven-day average of new cases, as well as its average positivity rate, has increased every week over the past four weeks — with the latter rising from 2.9% in mid-March to 4.9% on Wednesday.

“We are back to where we were basically in mid-December in terms of the positivity rate,” said Brown, “which as far as I’m concerned is the only semi-reliable indicator we have.”

And that, he noted, is with half the number of COVID-19 tests compared to mid­-December, meaning case counts are underestimated. His advice to others is to wear quality N95 masks indoors, which he considers the first line of defense against transmission.

DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr acknowledged the coronavirus case count is an undercount, given that thousands of home tests, which yield results not reported to DOH, have been sent to people around the state.

DOH recommends that kupuna ages 65 and older, as well as people who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated against COVID-19, continue to wear a face mask indoors.