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Hawaii records 48 new coronavirus infections as statewide tally climbs to 28,352

JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 15
                                An electronic sign displays the eligible age group for Oahu’s COVID-19 vaccinations along Beretania Street on Monday.

JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 15

An electronic sign displays the eligible age group for Oahu’s COVID-19 vaccinations along Beretania Street on Monday.

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported 48 new coronavirus infections, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 28,352 cases.

State health officials reported no new coronavirus-related deaths as the statewide death toll remains at 451.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 359 fatalities on Oahu, 53 on Hawaii island, 35 on Maui, one on Kauai, and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today was more than 536,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 29.5 million.

>> RELATED STORY: Hawaii health officials prioritizing certain people over others in Phase 1C for COVID-19 vaccine

Today’s new statewide infection cases include 30 on Oahu, seven on Maui, eight on Hawaii island, one on Kauai and two Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state, according to health officials. As a result of updated information, state health officials removed one Oahu case from the counts.

The statistics released today reflect the new infection cases reported to the department on Sunday.

The total number of coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 22,342 on Oahu, 2,465 on Maui, 2,343 in Hawaii County, 187 on Kauai, 108 on Lanai and 28 on Molokai. There are also 879 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Health officials also said today that of the state’s total infection count, 709 cases were considered to be active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The number of active cases in the state increased by 16 today.

By island, Oahu has 369 active cases, Maui has 239, the Big Island has 95, Kauai has four, and Molokai has one. Lanai has no active cases.

Health officials counted 4,453 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.08% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.1%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 1,934 have required hospitalizations, with two new hospitalizations reported today by state health officials.

Eight hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 1,926 hospitalizations within the state, 1,654 have been on Oahu, 153 on Maui, 105 on the Big Island, eight on Kauai, five on Lanai and one on Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 25 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Monday morning, with five in intensive care units and three on ventilators.

The state’s Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said today that 483,108 vaccines have been administered of the 612,900 received by the state. About 20% of the general population in Hawaii has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Of those who have received at least one vaccine dose so far, 50% are age 59 or younger, while the other half are age 60 or older.

Of the administered vaccines, 458,632 were given to the general public and 24,476 were distributed through the federal pharmacy program, officials said.

Oahu moved into the less-restrictive Tier 3 of the city’s four-tier economic recovery plan on Feb. 25 after being in Tier 2 since Oct. 22. Tier 3 permits social and outdoor recreational gatherings of up to 10 people, and restaurants to seat 10 people at a table, up from five now. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on Thursday announced modifications to Tier 3, including allowing bars to reopen under the same conditions as restaurants and extending the curfew until midnight.

Today’s seven-day average case count for Oahu is 29 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 1.0%, according to Blangiardi.


This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.


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