Hawaii today reached another record number of daily coronavirus cases with 60 new infections, primarily on Oahu.
Health officials reported 58 new cases on Oahu, one on Maui and a Hawaii resident diagnosed out of state, bringing the total number of infections statewide since the start of the outbreak to 1,549. A previous Maui case was removed from the total count as a result of the updated information, the Health Department said.
The 60 positive cases equals 4% of the 1,499 new test results counted today.
“We are concerned that this relatively high level of cases persists on Oahu. Some of the cases we report today are associated with existing groups, known cases, and family distribution, but others are new and unassociated cases indicating increasing community outreach, “said state health director Bruce Anderson in a press release. “In contact tracing, we continue to identify cases related to meetings or just hanging out with close friends. Until we all recognize the importance of physically distancing ourselves from people outside their homes and wearing masks, we face the possibility of an even greater number.” .
As of today, 375 infections in Hawaii are active cases, with a total of 1,148 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation,” or more than 74% of those infected. Twenty-three new cases of release were reported today. The category counts infected people who have met the criteria for release from isolation.
Total coronavirus cases across the state today include 1,225 on Oahu, 141 in Maui County, 117 on the island of Hawaii and 43 in Kauai County, according to health officials. The total also includes 23 Hawaiian residents diagnosed out of state.
Of all the confirmed cases in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, 156 have required hospitalizations, and a new hospitalization on Oahu was reported today, health officials said.
Two hospitalizations in the state count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated out of state. Of the 154 hospitalizations within the state, 123 have been on Oahu, 26 on Maui, four on the island of Hawaii, and one on Kauai.
Lieutenant Governor Josh Green said that today there are 30 people hospitalized with COVID-19 currently hospitalized in Hawaii with 13 ICU patients and two ventilator patients.
By county, Honolulu has seen 874 patients released from isolation, and Maui has released 124 patients. The island of Hawaii now has nine active infections, while Kauai County has none.
On Thursday, authorities reported the death of an older Oahu woman who contracted the virus, making it the 26th fatality in the state, along with a record 55 confirmed new cases, or 2.2 percent of the 2,478 new test results. reported that day.
The previous maximum since the start of the pandemic was 42 daily cases, reported on July 11.
The Health Department said it is bringing in additional contact trackers to help with new case investigations and contact tracking, although that will not prevent further spread of the community, according to state epidemiologist Sarah Park.
“Since we have over 400 contact trackers now trained to increase existing staff resources, we have sufficient reserves for that purpose. However, contact tracing and testing alone will not control the spread of COVID-19, ”he said. “Everyone should follow safe spacing recommendations and wear masks when close to others. That is the only way that we as a community are going to prevent the spread of this highly infectious disease. ”
Of the 112,790 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii, 1.4% have been positive, a slight increase of 1.3% that has been in recent weeks.
