The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard for Monday, August 3, at 7:35 a.m.:

Worldwide cases: 18,147,574    Worldwide deaths: 690,573

U.S. cases: 4,687,828      U.S. deaths: 155,062

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide cases increased by 295,123 in the last 24 hours.  The worldwide death toll in the past two days increased by 9,998.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 41,137 cases in the last 24 hours, and reported deaths attributed to COVID-19 have increased by only 351.

On Hawaii Island, this morning’s COVID-19 update from Hawaii County Civil Defense says we now have one active case, up from zero for the past several days, and that information should be on the noon State Department of Health update.   Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said the case is related to mainland travel, although he noted we have had several cases related to O’ahu travel.

In a morning conversation with Lt. Gov. Josh Green, he noted that yesterday’s state count of 45 was low because no data was received from Clinical Laboratories, so yesterday’s count should be corrected later today.  His biggest concern is contact tracing, and he was talking this morning with Gen. Kenneth Hara of the State Emergency Management Agency about bringing in National Guard troops to assist with contact tracing.  The Federal Government has given Hawaii more than $30 million just for contact tracing and testing.

Across the country, COVID-19 has become quite widespread.  Dr. Debra Birx, who heads Donald Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force, said the country has moved into a whole new phase, more serious than what was being experienced in March and April.   She said both rural and urban areas are seeing large outbreaks of COVID-19 and continued to urge everybody to wear masks and practice physical distancing and wash hands often.

She also cautioned that areas on the mainland with large increases should consider distance learning for their children.  In Hawaii, the Big Island’s situation is currently far different, as we’ve had no cases for several days, and today there is only one active case on the island.  Dr. Birx said parents need to look at what the situation is in their community, in their state, as they consider sending their children to school.