...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 15 to 25 kt with gusts up to 35 kt and seas
6 to 9 feet.
* WHERE...Oahu Windward Waters, Oahu Leeward Waters, Kaiwi
Channel, Maui County Windward Waters, Maui County Leeward
Waters, Maalaea Bay, Big Island Leeward Waters and Big Island
Southeast Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Friday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
ER patients testing positive for COVID are included in hospitalization count
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.
HONOLULU-- COVID hospitalization numbers require a closer look to break down the current risk of the Omicron variant.
"At least up until now, we have included in our counts everybody who tested positive for COVID regardless if they are being treated for COVID," Hilton Raethel of Healthcare Association of Hawaii told KITV News.
Staying consistent with former practices, the case counts include patients treated in the ER for other ailments who then test positive for COVID-19.
"If someone comes off a moped, is admitted to the hospital, and is treated for that accident, and they're tested because we test all in-patients... it may be found they have COVID," Raethel added, explaining patients in that situation are still tabulated as infectious.
Health care providers say the practice is more of an issue now with the prevalence of Omicron, presenting a higher volume of asymptomatic cases.
"Does it cause inflation of the numbers? I'd say yes it does. But again, it's important to identify them for consistency reasons," said Raymond Vara of Hawaii Pacific Health.
How much do incidental admissions inflate hospitalization numbers? A data analysis hasn't been conducted yet.
"But based on anecdotes we believe that something like 20 per cent of our current admissions that test positive for COVID are not in the hospital for COVID or actively treated for COVID," Raethel concluded.
Hawaii's Health care providers at a press conference Wednesday explained the data discrepancy. They also issued a plea to the public to use all the tools at its disposal to take personal responsibility to mitigate the spread of COVID.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
Jeremy Lee joined KITV after over a decade & a half in broadcast news from coast to coast on the mainland. Jeremy most recently traveled the country documenting protests & civil unrest.