Hawaii Reports 622 New COVID Cases, 3 More Deaths Amid Continuing Rise And Laboratory Reporting Delays

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The state’s health department reported 622 COVID infections on Friday, a surprising number that is at least in part blamed on delays in reporting from labs earlier this week, but also represents a continued rise in new cases of coronavirus in the islands.

There were also three other deaths, bringing the death toll to 537.

Of the new cases, 359 were in Oahu, 111 on the island of Hawaii, 74 in Maui and eight in Kauai. In addition, 70 residents were diagnosed out of state.

Several sources initially confirmed the figure to Hawaii News Now.

The state health director later confirmed the number to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, but a spokesperson for the Department of Health declined to comment to Hawaii News Now on Friday morning.

In a live broadcast on the Star-Advertiser Facebook page, state health director Dr Libby Char said the current outbreak was alarming. “We’re very, very concerned about this at this point,” she said.

“There is no reason for the trend to change without us doing something different.”

She urged unvaccinated people to get vaccinated and put on masks and socially distance themselves.

“What we are seeing right now is widespread community transmission,” she said.

Char added that about 25% of Friday’s cases are children.

Meanwhile, sources told HNN that the seven-day average for new cases statewide now stands at 230.6, which is one of the highest averages in Hawaii for the whole pandemic.

There have been 2,653 cases reported in the past 14 days. The number of confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic now stands at 41,925.

The state does not provide details on the number of cases in those vaccinated compared to those unvaccinated.

Related coverage:

Delays in lab reports began on Wednesday, when 85 cases were reported. Thursday’s 234 figure included some of the oldest cases.

The three-day average – Wednesday through Friday – is 314.

While that number is far lower than Friday, it still represents a continued rise in new COVID infections in Hawaii as the state grapples with the rapid spread of the delta variant.

The vast majority of confirmed cases are unvaccinated people, but Char noted that so-called “breakthrough cases” are on the increase – because the virus is spreading more widely and because more people are being vaccinated. New research also reveals that people who have been vaccinated can carry as many viruses as people who are not vaccinated with the delta variant, a worrying development.

With other variants, people who were vaccinated were much less likely to spread the virus.

New research from the CDC also found that the delta variant was as contagious as chickenpox.

Some 60% of the state is now fully vaccinated against COVID, while 66.7% have at least one injection.

And health ministry officials have pointed out that while a vaccinated person can still contract COVID, they are much less likely to develop severe symptoms and require hospitalization.

Here is the daily report table provided by the state Department of Health:

Below is the latest information provided by the DOH on Hawaii’s vaccination status:

This story will be updated.

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