The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard for Thursday morning, June 18, at 7:33 a.m.:

Worldwide cases:  8,400,320   Worldwide deaths:  450,435

U.S. cases:  2,173,804    U.S. deaths:  118,029

According to the Dashboard, the United States has added 25,447 cases in the last 23 hours, and deaths attributed to COVID-19 have increased by 739.  The case count is higher than the two-week average, and the death count is around average.

In Hawaii, according to the State Department of Health, despite a spike in cases in the last two weeks, the case count remains relatively low at 744.  Hawaii Island has two active cases.  The biggest concern statewide right now is that there are 5 active cases at the Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on O’ahu, the state’s largest nursing home.  Four cases are in patients, and one in a staff worker.   AARP says that nationally, at least 43,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19, about 36% of the country’s deaths.

The CDC says the best way to avoid spreading the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 is keeping space between yourself and others outside of your home: “limiting face-to-face contact with others is the best way to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”