Hawaii is now battling the highest rate of coronavirus transmission in the nation, new data shows.
COVID-19 cases are spreading in the tropical state at a rate of 1.6, which means every person who gets sick is infecting at least one other person on average, Hawaii News Now reported.
“That is very, very high,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told the outlet.
Meanwhile, the next worse states are South Dakota, at 1.2, and Texas, which is at 1.16.
“It’s just a glaring example of how we need to be serious about this,” said Dr. Scott Miscovich, who has overseen mass testing events in the state. “We need to wear masks, we need to social distance.”
He urged Hawaiians to spend more time outdoors to help stop the transmission of the virus.
“We are spreading it in closed respiratory environments. Get outside. It’s very serious,” he said.
More than 3,600 Hawaiians have become sick with the virus despite strict 14-day quarantines for all visitors and returning residents, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.
