COVID-19 cases across the island chain are rising, resulting in some local hospitals returning to mask mandates.
Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi is encouraging the use of masks for its patients and visitors, starting Monday. Health care workers are also required to wear masks in some areas.
But, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health says while masks are recommended at Straub and Pali Momi, it is taking a different approach at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children.
"I'm very, very pleased that the hospitals are mandating masks, and I think we should begin to do this all over the state," said Dr. Scott Miscovich. "Hospitals are places that people are clearly immunosuppressed and they're ill, and the age group of individuals in the hospitals are higher, and the people that could be coming in, whether emergency room or ICU, etc, including staff, can be sick."
Dr. Miscovich was hired to conduct testing at FestPAC 2024 as a precaution.
"I think it was a tremendously successful event that was held to try to keep the FestPAC members safe and our communities safe," Miscovich said. "And the positivity rate was definitely below the state positivity rate. We had, I think, total of 59 total positive individuals the entire time."
As the cases continue to climb Dr. Miscovich warns the public to take the necessary precautions.
"The numbers are here," he added. "They're going to go down in the fall, and then they'll go back up over Christmas, in January. And I think it's clear this disease is here to stay."
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 19, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
