Hawaii records 16 new coronavirus cases as statewide total reaches 850
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Travelers head to their departure gates at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Wednesday. The end of the 14-day quarantine for interisland passengers increased airport traffic this month, and Gov. David Ige on Wednesday announced a plan to allow trans-Pacific travelers who test negative for COVID-19 to skip the quarantine also, starting in August.
Hawaii recorded 16 new coronavirus cases today, as the statewide total of infections since the start of the outbreak rose to 850, state Department of Health officials said in their daily midday count.
Health officials also said one case — from Oahu — was removed from the statewide total “as a result of updated testing information.”
Today’s new cases included 12 adult Oahu residents and four Kauai children. (Officials initially said there were five Kauai cases, but revised that to four this afternoon to correct a reporting error.)
“All of the Kaua‘i cases are related to a known cluster and seven (7) of the O‘ahu cases are associated with known confirmed cases and the others are still under investigation,” health officials said later this afternoon in an email.
As of today, 137 infections in Hawaii are active cases with a total of 696 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation” since the start of the outbreak in February. Ten new release cases – nine on Oahu and one on the Big Island — were reported today. The category counts those infected people who have met the criteria for being released from isolation.
About 82% of the Hawaii people who have been infected are now classified as released from isolation.
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The state’s coronavirus death toll remains unchanged at 17. Eleven of the deaths have been on Oahu and six on Maui.
Today’s statewide coronavirus cases total includes 595 on Oahu, 122 in Maui County, 86 on Hawaii island, and 33 in Kauai County, according to health officials. The total also includes 14 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state.
Of all the confirmed Hawaii cases since the start of the outbreak, 109 have required hospitalizations, with four new hospitalizations on Oahu reported today, health officials said.
One hospitalization in the statewide count is a Hawaii resident who was diagnosed and treated outside the state, officials said. Of the 108 hospitalizations in the state, 80 have been on Oahu, 25 on Maui, two on Hawaii island, and one for Kauai.
By county, Honolulu has seen 479 patients released from isolation, and Maui has had 113 patients released. The Big Island has two active infections, while Kauai has 12.
Of the more than 73,005 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii, about 1.1% have been positive. Health officials counted 1,070 new test results in today’s tally.
After a relatively mild May with only 46 new cases reported, Hawaii has reported 205 new confirmed cases so far this month.
>> RELATED STORY: Gov. Ige announces trans-Pacific testing program as alternative to quarantine
