#Hawaii seeing fastest rate of COVID-19 spread of anywhere in the US

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.

Hawaii Army National Guard soldiers screen departing passengers at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

Alamy Stock Photo

A surfer walks out of the ocean on Oahu’s North Shore near Haleiwa, Hawaii.

AP

First-grade teacher Shannon Allen prepares a classroom at Aikahi Elementary School in Kailua, Hawaii.

AP

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“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.