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The number of new daily coronavirus cases today reached 622, the highest since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Hawaii Department of Health director Dr Elizabeth Char said on Spotlight Hawaii this morning. .
Later today, the state also reported three more coronavirus-related deaths. The deaths were two men in Oahu, one in his sixties and one in his fifties, and a man from Maui in his sixties. All three were hospitalized and had underlying conditions.
The new infection numbers include some cases that were not reported Wednesday due to “an interruption in the electronic laboratory notification system,” according to the health ministry.
On Wednesday, a partial tally of 85 new cases was reported, followed by 234 on Thursday. With 622 today, the three-day average would be 314.
“We’re very, very concerned about this and at this point there is no real reason to think the trend is going to change,” Char said. “Without us doing anything different I think the message stays, we know what works. The # 1 tool we have for this pandemic is to get vaccinated. We know it’s safe and we know it works.
Char said there was widespread community transmission at gatherings where people did not wear masks, including restaurants and bars.
She said people should continue to wear masks, keep their distance and avoid large gatherings – and remember to stay home when sick.
“We are seeing a greater spread through people who have symptoms even if they are minors, who go out, go to work, mingle with family members and spread the virus,” she said. “So get vaccinated, wear your mask, stay home if you’re sick, and avoid large gatherings. “
The number of 622 new confirmed and probable cases of infection reported today includes 359 new cases in Oahu, 111 on the island of Hawaii, 74 in Maui, eight in Kauai and 70 residents of Hawaii diagnosed outside the ‘State.
Statistics released today reflect new cases of infection reported to the department on Wednesday and previous cases undercounted earlier this week.
The single-day record for new cases before today was 355 in an increase on Aug. 13, which included 86 from an existing cluster at the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases per island since the start of the epidemic is 30,406 in Oahu, 5,083 in Maui, 3,950 in Hawaii County, 539 in Kauai, 117 in Lanai and 81 in Molokai. There are also 1,749 residents of Hawaii who have been diagnosed out of state.
Of the total number of infections in the state, 2,653 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 389.
The state’s official coronavirus death toll includes 411 deaths on Oahu, 60 on Maui, 58 on the island of Hawaii, two in Kauai and three Hawaii residents who died out of state. The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States today is over 612,000 and the number of infections nationwide is over 34.7 million.
The current spike is mainly due to the highly transmissible delta variant – now the dominant strain in Hawaii as well as the country – and the community that has spread to all four major counties.
An internal report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, warns that the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and more likely to break the protections offered by vaccines, according to the New York Times.
The report also found that fully vaccinated people with breakthrough infections carry as much virus as those who are not vaccinated. That’s what prompted the CDC’s overthrow earlier this week and the recommendation that everyone wear masks in public places indoors, whether or not they are vaccinated.
When questioned, Char also said that with “the advent of the delta variant,” the state may now need to vaccinate more than 70% of its population to achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus.
“It’s really a good demonstration that the virus determines what herd immunity is and what protects us,” she said. “I think the number is probably going to be higher, that we will need more people to be fully immunized and protected against the virus in order to have a safe community.”
Hawaii’s latest COVID-19 vaccine summary shows 1,754,544 doses of the vaccine were administered through state and federal distribution programs on Thursday, up 2,928 from the previous day. Health officials say 60.1% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated and 66.9% have received at least one dose.
Of all confirmed cases of infection in Hawaii, 2,694 required hospitalizations, with 10 new hospitalizations – six in Oahu and two each in Maui and the Big Island – reported today.
Fifteen hospitalizations in the state’s overall tally are residents of Hawaii who were diagnosed and treated out of state. Of the 2,164 hospitalizations in the state, 2,179 were in Oahu, 315 in Maui, 163 in Big Island, 16 in Kauai, five in Lanai, and one in Molokai.
According to today’s update on the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 117 patients with the virus are in hospitals in Hawaii, including 23 in intensive care units and 12 under fans. The last time Hawaii admitted more than 100 COVID patients to hospitals was on January 29.
For the first time since late January, Hawaii hospitalizations of COVID patients in the state exceeded 100 on Tuesday and continued to increase during the week.
Health officials counted 11,677 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a statewide positivity rate of more than 5%. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 5.1%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.
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