The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard for Thursday, August 13, at 7:27 a.m.:

Worldwide cases:  20,706,396      Worldwide deaths:  751,033

U.S. cases:   5,223,131     U.S. deaths: 166,483

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide cases increased by 293,895 in the last 24 hours.  The worldwide death toll in the past two days increased by 6,772.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 54,446 cases in the last 24 hours, and reported deaths attributed to COVID-19 have increased by 1,1213.

As of Wednesday, Hawaii had a total of 3,958 cumulative COVID-19 cases, with 2,255 active cases.   Hawaii County had 2 new cases reported on Wednesday, with a cumulative 135 cases and 16 active cases as of yesterday afternoon.

On O’ahu, the case count has surged, causing Mayor Kirk Caldwell to issue new restrictions, such as closing beaches and recreational facilities.  The State Department of Public Safety reported this morning that at Oahu Community Correctional Center, 18 staff members and 86 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19.  The State DOH said yesterday that there are at least 5 restaurants on O’ahu with one or more people testing positive, but don’t believe the virus was spread to customers.  DOH also said the City and County of Honolulu has at least 13 cases associated with Honolulu Hale (City Hall).

The state has continued to be under fire for issues with contact tracing.   Members of the State Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 paid a surprise visit to the Department of Health office and found only a few contact tracers, with some responsible for tracing more than 100 cases, with one contact tracer saying he had 192 cases to track.   On Monday,  the Hawaii Government Employees Association — HGEA– filed a grievance with the State, saying there were only 15 tracers on O’ahu.  U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard has called for the resignation of State Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson and State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park.   Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Dr. Josh Green reported that the State Department of Health was bringing on a new employee to handle contact tracing.  This morning, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports the DOH has hired Dr. Emily Robinson to handle the task.

Hawaii has lost 38 lives to COVID-19.  The two most recent deaths, as reported by DOH, are men between 40 and 59.