COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are on the rise in Hawaii and nationwide. This
Axios-AM article includes a good map of the U.S. that indicates Hawaii’s trend is spiking upward at a high rate.
At Kona Community Hospital (KCH), we are experiencing a significant increase in COVID-19 positive patients in our Emergency Department. We are averaging 3 – 6 positive patients in the ED daily. The majority of these patients are under 30 years of age, and are unvaccinated.
Because of these increases, we are revising our Visitor Restrictions Policy effective Saturday, July 24. As of Saturday, the Emergency Department will restrict all visitation until further notice. That is, no visitors will be allowed into the ED. All other hospital units will continue limited visitation (see attached Visitor Guidelines file for details).
In addition, the COVID-19 Screening Station is being relocated to the entrance of the Emergency Department. All visitors must check in at this station.
Please encourage your loved ones to get vaccinated.
Kona Community Hospital COVID-19 update for July 22, 2021 (as of 2:00pm):
- 0 total
- 0 ICU
- 1 Med Surg acute care unit
- 0 ventilator(s) in use for COVID patient(s)
- As of June 22, 2021 a cumulative total of 8 deaths have occurred in the hospital (no change since last update).
View Hawaii’s latest reported statistics:
- Total confirmed cases in State as of July 20: 39,892
- Total confirmed cases in County as of July 20: 3,558
KCH Call Center Update:
Requests for replacement COVID-19 vaccination cards may be submitted to the KCH Call Center phone line or the COVID vaccine email address.
COVID-19 Vaccination Update:
- Total KCH staff vaccination rate as of July 22: 1st vaccination 79%; fully vaccinated 78% have received both in the series.
- Total vaccinations administered in State as of July 22: 1,736,117 (59.5%)
Current vaccination sites in Hawaii County can be found on the Hawaii County COVID-19 Vaccine Summary webpage. This site is updated regularly. In addition to vaccine locator information, it contains lots of useful VOVID-19 data and info.
Homebound Vaccination Program: KTA has launched a homebound vaccination program. Providers can refer a patient by visiting this link: https://form.jotform.com/211115745590149
#HIGotVaccinated – Share your vaccination experience:
- Phase two launched on July 19
- Cash prizes, other incentives
- The Hawai‘i Department of Health along with businesses and organizations state-wide are hosting #HIGotVaccinated events and promotions to encourage all residents ages 12 years and older to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
Monoclonal Antibody Therapy Update:
KCH does not currently have any monoclonal antibody therapy. Our supply of bamlanivimab/etesevimab has been depleted, and we are unable to obtain more (see below in yellow highlight).
We are exploring the possibility of obtaining Regeneron as an alternate therapy.
As per HHS – We are pausing all shipments of Bam/Ete due to the prevalence of the P1 variant, as of right now we are only shipping Regeneron. Please note Regeneron-Cov is free of charge and is now a single vial co-formulated version.
Media Coverage:
See additional COVID-19 information at the Kona Community Hospital website.