Hawaii sees second ‘groundbreaking’ death of fully vaccinated resident and 243 new infections



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Hawaii today recorded the second “groundbreaking” COVID-19 death of a fully vaccinated individual, while also marking the eighth consecutive day the number of new cases has reached triple digits.

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported three new coronavirus-related deaths and 243 new infections. State totals since the start of the pandemic now stand at 527 deaths and 39,892 cases.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has said he does not want Oahu to revert to the more restrictive Level 4 reopening plan to curb the spread of the virus.

State health officials today said the latest deaths were an Oahu man in her 50s, an Oahu woman in her 60s who was fully vaccinated and a Maui woman in her 60s. All three people had underlying health issues when they were hospitalized with COVID-19, state health officials said.

>> RELATED: Rare Cases Of COVID ‘Breakthrough’ Cause Alarm, Confusion

The current total of 243 new cases is the highest recorded since January this year. State health officials previously recorded 322 new cases on January 7, 264 new cases the next day and 250 new cases on January 9.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green attributed the majority of cases this month to community-related exposure.

“About 78% of cases in July are due to community spread, 20% to residents returning from travel and 2% to non-resident travel,” Green said in an Instagram. “Don’t wait, encourage your friends and family to get vaccinated.

The record since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was reached on August 13, 2020, when the Hawaii Department of Health reported a single-day record of 355 new coronavirus cases.

The state’s official coronavirus death toll includes 408 deaths on Oahu, 58 on Maui, 56 on the island of Hawaii, two in Kauai and three residents of Hawaii who died out of state.

The coronavirus-related death toll in the United States today is over 610,000 and the number of infections nationwide is over 34.2 million.

Today’s new number of confirmed and probable infections by island includes 146 new cases in Oahu, 14 in Maui, 50 in the island of Hawaii, eight in Kauai and 25 residents of Hawaii diagnosed outside the ‘State.

State health officials included probable infections in the total number of cases. Likely infections include people who have never received a confirmatory test but who would have had the virus because of their exposure and known symptoms or because of a positive antigen test.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases per island since the start of the epidemic is 29,182 in Oahu, 4,860 in Maui, 3,558 in Hawaii County, 488 in Kauai, 115 in Lanai and 81 in Molokai. There are also 1,608 residents of Hawaii who have been diagnosed out of state.

Today’s probable infections since the start of the pandemic added to the tally today include 852 in Maui, 844 in Oahu, 81 on the island of Hawaii, 24 in Molokai, three in Kauai, three in Lanai and 62 residents diagnosed out of state.

Statistics released today reflect the new cases of infection reported to the department on Tuesday.

Health officials counted 4,954 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a statewide positivity rate of 4.9%.

Green told the Star-Advertiser that while the jump reflects an increase in July 4 rallies among unvaccinated revelers, the 7-day positivity rate today at 3.9%, is only slightly over 3 , 7% Wednesday, resulting in more test results. future. The 7-day average of new cases rose to 135 today, from 125 on Wednesday, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

Health officials also said today that of the state’s total infections, 1,483 cases were considered active. Officials say they view infections reported in the past 14 days as a “proxy number for active cases.” The state’s total number of active cases today increased by 161.

Per island, Oahu has 1,018 active cases, the Big Island has 248, Maui has 128, Kauai has 88, and Molokai has one.

Health officials have warned that the highly transmissible delta variant, found in all four counties, will continue to multiply in the coming weeks.

State health officials said in the latest report released Wednesday that an additional 69 cases were detected in samples, bringing the total to 126 statewide.

Delta is now the predominant strain in the state, accounting for 55% of the variants circulating in the state.

While it is highly likely that daily new cases will stay in the triple digits for some time due to the spread in the community, the surge should subside a bit if people are smart.

“I would make two recommendations to everyone,” Green said. “Spend two quiet weeks. Do not hold large gatherings, especially if you are not vaccinated. Just keep it fluffy for two weeks and wear a mask if not vaccinated. And go get vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, don’t wait for fall, don’t wait for Christmas. It’s time to go because the delta is super contagious.

>> RELATED: No “Clear Strategy” to Get More Oahu People Vaccinated, Honolulu Mayor Blangiardi Says

Hawaii’s latest COVID-19 vaccine summary shows 1,736,117 doses of the vaccine were administered through state and federal distribution programs on Wednesday, up 3,028 from the previous day. Health officials say 59.5% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated and 66% have received at least one dose.

Of all confirmed cases of infection in Hawaii, 2,598 required hospitalizations, with nine new hospitalizations reported today.

Fourteen hospitalizations in the state’s aggregate tally are residents of Hawaii who were diagnosed and treated out of state. Of the 2,584 hospitalizations in the state, 2,110 were in Oahu, 303 in Maui, 151 in Big Island, 14 in Kauai, five in Lanai and one in Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 73 patients with the virus have been in hospitals in Hawaii to date, with 17 in intensive care units and 13 on ventilators.

The seven-day average number of cases for Oahu is 96 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 4.3%, state health officials said today.


Writer Nina Wu contributed to this story.




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