Hawaii records 9th coronavirus death as confirmed cases rise to 486; Maui Memorial cluster grows
BRUCE ASATO / APRIL 9
Nurse Chris Tomlinson performs a nasal swab on a motorist during a drive-through coronavirus testing in Waianae.
BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kaela Akina-Magnusson of Premier Medical Group Hawaii sprays a disinfectant on the protective clothing of a team member at a COVID-19 screening at Kakaako Waterfront Park on April 5.
UPDATE: 4:53 p.m.
The state Department of Health today announced the ninth coronavirus death in Hawaii, a woman who was over 65-years-old and had underlying medical conditions.
The woman tested positive for the virus and was hospitalized on Oahu, state officials said this afternoon. No further information was immediately released.
Of today’s 21 new reported cases statewide, health officials said 20 are adults and one is a minor, according to the state’s Joint COVID-19 Information Center. Of this number, 16 are Hawaii residents, two are nonresidents, and three cases are of unknown residence and pending investigation, the center said.
Eleven of the new cases are community-spread, while 10 are unknown, but none are associated with travel, officials noted, adding that Lanai remains the only island with no reported cases.
The Information Center also said that of the 17,747 coronavirus tests so far conducted by state and clinical laboratories in the islands, a total 484, or 2.7%, have been positive. (That number does not include the two Hawaii residents living outside the state who are also counted in Hawaii’s total of 486 cases.)
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Health officials also said this afternoon that a total of 29 people at Maui Memorial Medical Center have tested positive as the cluster of cases at the Wailuku hospital continues to grow. They said 90 hospital staff and 36 patients have been tested. As of Friday, the hospital had reported 19 postive test results.
However, a Maui Memorial spokeswoman said the Health Department’s number of cases at the hospital was inaccurate and the numbers were being verified with the department.
The Health Department said that the medical center’s cluster “is not a hospital-wide issue at this time, but involves at least two wards with the Chronic Care Ward as the major focus.”
Of the 29 positive results, they said, “some appear to be separate introductions and not necessarily MMMC/health care-associated infections.” They did not provide further details on the Maui Memorial increase, saying the investigation is ongoing.
“DOH will be supporting MMMC in notifying patients who have recently been discharged or treated and may be associated with the affected wards and staff,” they said.
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Hawaii Department of Health officials said today that the state’s tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 486, up 21 from Friday.
Of all the confirmed cases in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, 44 have required hospitalizations, with two new hospitalizations reported today, health officials said.
The state’s coronavirus death toll stands at eight, unchanged from Friday. Five of the deaths have been on Oahu and three on Maui.
Today’s statewide total includes 348 cases on Oahu, 80 in Maui County, 34 on Hawaii island, and 19 in Kauai County, according to health officials.
Maui County saw the largest daily increase, according to the figures released late this morning.
In all, state officials today reported 14 new cases in Maui County, five new cases on Oahu, three on Hawaii island, and no new cases on Kauai. Health officials say that the sum of changes by county is “larger than the number of statewide newly reported cases because of previously reported pending cases being reclassified to county totals as more information is collected.”
The statewide total also includes two Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state. Three cases in the statewide total are pending identification of county, one fewer than Friday.
A total 300 patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak, with health officials reporting 16 new recoveries today. More than 60% of the people who have been infected in Hawaii are now classified as recovered.
By county, Honolulu has seen 223 patients recover, Maui has had 40 recoveries, the Big Island has had 25, and Kauai has seen 12, as of noon today, the Health Department says.
Of the 44 hospitalizations in the state, 36 have been on Oahu, seven on Maui and one on Kauai.
On Friday, Hawaii health officials announced the state’s seventh and eighth COVID-19 deaths, and Maui Memorial Medical Center said the cluster of cases at the Wailuku hospital had grown to 19, including three more health care workers and one patient.
