Hawaii reports 655 new COVID infections, highest single-day total since pandemic began

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii reported 655 new COVID infections on Thursday, the highest single-day total since the start of the pandemic.

The second highest total reported for a single day was 452 and was reached on Sunday.

The one-day record comes amid an alarming rise in infections blamed primarily on the highly contagious delta variant.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said the vast majority of cases continue to be among the unvaccinated.

And he was forthright in his message to those who still haven’t received the blow.

“You are crazy if you don’t get the vaccine. It’s a big mistake, ”he said. “I know we have different ideologies on this, but don’t listen to the people who come up with stuff about what the vaccine is going to do to you. All (the vaccine) will do is stop you from catching COVID. “

Wednesday, 60.4%. state is fully vaccinated.

About 211,000 children in Hawaii are too young to get the vaccine, Green said, leaving about a quarter of a million people in Hawaii who are eligible for the vaccine but have not yet done so.

“This is where the virus is spreading,” he said.

“As it spreads, hospitalizations increase. It affects us all because then we cannot do elective procedures. We cannot have extra beds for people with heart attacks. This is really serious business.

Green said 166 people are now hospitalized statewide with COVID.

Among the new cases on Thursday:

428 were on Oahu
131 were on the island of Hawaii
69 in Maui
Seven on Kauai

There were also 20 residents diagnosed out of state.

The Healthcare Association of HI claims that the Kaiser Lab (which is a compilation of all of its testing sites) reported a positivity rate of over 10% on Sun. Kapolei (it is not known which specific test site (s)) reported a positivity rate of over 10% on Wednesday. Both are records for the state. @HawaiiNewsNow

– Allyson Blair (@AllysonBlairTV) August 5, 2021

Meanwhile, no additional deaths have been reported. The death toll from the virus stands at 538.

Since the start of the pandemic, Hawaii has recorded 44,617 cases of COVID.

In the past 14 days, the state has confirmed 4,391 new infections. At the same time, the seven-day average of cases also skyrocketed: from 268 on July 29 to 436 on Thursday. The positivity rate is now 7%.

This means that 7% of all people tested for COVID come back positive.

On the island of Hawaii, the figure is 8.3%.

Hilton Raethel, head of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, said about 90% of people hospitalized with COVID on the islands are not vaccinated. He added that the increase in the number of cases – combined with rising positivity rates is set to drive hospitalization rates statewide in the coming weeks.

Already, hospitals are feeling the pressure of increasing hospitalizations and have called for more than 500 emergency medical workers from the continent under a federally funded FEMA program.

The growing number of COVID infections in Hawaii is causing a surge in vaccine needs, and the governor is expected to announce warrants for state and county employees on Thursday.

Hawaii’s major hospitals have already announced their own mandates. And on Wednesday, Hawaii’s public schools announced that student-athletes should be vaccinated to play.

This story will be updated.

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