This morning, the Hawai‘i Department of Health is transitioning from daily to weekly COVID-19 data. Numbers and data were released this morning. Case counts and vaccination updates will be published on the DOH COVID-19 dashboard every Wednesday beginning March 16.
“Our decisions have always been based on trends, not single day counts. There is greater focus now on weekly hospital admissions, weekly hospital occupancy, and weekly case counts when calculating the current community levels of COVID-19. Our processes are evolving as the pandemic evolves,” said State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char, FACEP.
As more people are taking COVID-19 tests at home, state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said those tests aren’t counted by the state. This means the state case counts are not as accurate a reflection of COVID-19 in the community as they once were.
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“We are still monitoring case counts, but hospital metrics now play a larger role in our decisions,” Kemble said. “Vaccination progress is still an important metric. Weekly intervals are better than day-to-day incremental changes when determining where progress is being made or where additional progress is needed.”
“We owe our data team a great deal of gratitude for working at an exhausting pace for almost two years. The shift to weekly reporting allows for a more effective and sustainable response,” Char said.
According to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, only nine states report daily COVID-19 case counts.
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