The Tuesday morning, 7:32 a.m. Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard:
Worldwide cases: 4,229,074 Worldwide deaths: 289,349
U.S. cases: 1,356,037 U. S. deaths: 81,571
Hawaii continues to have a low case count increase, in the low single digits for more than two weeks, and last Friday, no new cases. The State’s case count stands at 634, with 561 released from isolation, according to the State Department of Health. Hawaii Island has 75 cases, with 74 released from isolation according to the DOH. Mayor Harry Kim reports that as of this morning, there are no active cases on the island.
The State Legislature reconvened on Monday, to address the projected budget shortfall. Governor David Ige’s team has estimated a shortfall of $1.5 Billion. The State House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness, in a meeting Monday, said the actual shortfall is closer to $1 Billion. They say the Governor’s team made a math error. They used figures from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO), which according to State Rep. Sylvia Luke, showed a 16% drop in revenues in 2021 but an 8% bounceback in 2022. She said the Governor’s team used the 16% as a negative and the 8% also as a negative, instead of a positive.
She said the Legislature feels they can cover what they believe is a $1 Billion shortfall by cutting requests for new spending, cutting vacant positions, using money from the Rainy Day Fund, and taking advantage of low interest federal loans. In his Monday afternoon press conference, Gov. Ige acknowledged the error in computing, but said he still believes the shortfall will be $1.5 Billion.
