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The Conversation: Hawaii's Health Department Director on Contact Tracing, Rising COVID Cases

AP Photo/Steven Senne

Interview with State Health Director Bruce Anderson; Building a local COVID modeling system; City official under federal investigation still on the job; Possible confusion with mail-in voting; Political campaigning during a pandemic

Interview with State Health Director Bruce Anderson

State of Hawaii Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson came under fire earlier this week. Lt. Gov. Josh Green believes DOH has failed to hire enough contact tracers as the number of COVID-19 cases has risen to daily triple digits. Anderson addresses the criticism and the rising number of positive COVID cases across the state. 

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Hawaii Health Director Bruce Anderson

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Building a local COVID modeling system

As Hawaii's COVID-19 cases surge, there is still no direction from Gov. David Ige on what should trigger the restrictions to help stop the virus, and when things can ease again. There are national statistical models, but Hawaii doesn't have one. HPR Reporter Ashley Mizuo tells us how Hawaii-based groups are addressing the issue.

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HPR Reporter Ashley Mizuo

City official under federal investigation still on the job

Honolulu Managing Director Roy Amemiya will continue running the daily operations of the city despite being under investigation by the FBI, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. Civil Beat Reporter Christina Jedra tells us more about the mayor's reasoning. Click here to read her story at CivilBeat.org.

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Civil Beat Reporter Christina Jedra

Credit Catherine Cruz
Ballot drop box at Honolulu Hale

  

Possible confusion with mail-in voting

If your ballot isn't in the mail, you may want to consider dropping it off at one of the many election centers across the state. We hear from voters who dropped off their ballots in person for various reasons. And we also talk to political analyst Jerry Burris about possible confusion from the switch to all mail-in voting.

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Political Analyst Jerry Burris

Credit Catherine Cruz
Election related mailings

Political campaigning during a pandemic

During previous election years, you probably saw political candidates at community events, shaking hands and trying to garner votes. COVID changed all that due to social distancing rules. So how are candidates campaigning this year?

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University of Hawaii at Manoa Public Policy Center Director Colin Moore

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Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. Originally from Guam, she spent more than 30 years at KITV, covering beats from government to education. Contact her at ccruz@hawaiipublicradio.org.
Jason Ubay is the managing editor at Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Send your story ideas to him at jubay@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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