dgrossman@mauinews.com
Maui County does not plan to tighten restrictions amid a spike in cases connected to a new strain of COVID-19, though state and county officials are asking the community to remain diligent.
“We’re not going to make major changes to the restrictions,” Mayor Michael Victorino said Monday afternoon during the county’s news conference. “We know what we need to do, our visitors know what they need to do, our businesses are doing a great job I go to many of these businesses I don’t think we need to up the ante at this point.
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Community spread of COVID-19 on Maui, Big Island raises alarm
Neighbor islands keep eye on COVID counts as Oahu cases spike By Samie Solina | January 7, 2021 at 5:54 PM HST - Updated January 7 at 6:03 PM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Neighbor Islands are grappling with a growing number of COVID-19 infections and say community spread is fueling the case count.
On Thursday, the state reported 56 new cases on Maui County, 18 in Hawaii County, and one on Kauai.
Before community spread was so severe, officials with Maui Memorial Medical Center said they were dealing with two or three COIVD-19 positive patients a day. Currently, they have a dozen.
mtanji@mauinews.com
Minit Medical, with the assistance of Maui County, set up COVID-19 testing again at the Harbor Lights condominium complex in Kahului on Thursday. A cluster at the complex had reached about 75 cases as of Wednesday. MARIANNE GILL photos
The state Department of Health reported 56 new cases on Maui on Thursday, the island’s highest daily total to date and a spike that county officials said may be due to holiday gatherings.
“Today’s number is certainly concerning, but not unexpected,” Mayor Michael Victorino said in a news release Thursday evening. “Our medical advisers anticipated a dramatic surge in cases after the holidays. We are watching the numbers very carefully, but we do hope to see a downward trend toward later this month. In the meantime, we are enforcing existing public health rules and working with Governor Ige to institute some new restrictions.”