Health care officials are trying to anticipate the demand on Hawaiʻi hospitals in the next week or two. On Thursday, there were 4,789 new COVID-19 cases and the statewide positivity rate was 18.5%.
The hospital bed count, particularly on the neighbor islands, is of concern. The case count at Kona Community Hospital on Wednesday afternoon triggered it to go into “crisis mode.” Hilton Raethel, president of the Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi, shared the current COVID-19 situation statewide.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Jan. 6, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
