The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 1,047 new COVID-19 infections over the past week, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 358,279.

Health officials also reported five more deaths, all aged 60 and older, bringing the state’s coronavirus-related death toll since the start of the pandemic to 1,699.

The state’s seven-day average of new cases declined to 145 compared with 166 reported on Oct. 5.

The average is based on an earlier set of seven days, Oct. 1 to 7, than the week-over-week infection count and positivity rate for Oct. 4 to 10, because data from the most recent three days are considered incomplete.

Actual numbers are estimated to be higher since these figures do not include unreported home test kit results.

Starting Sept. 28, DOH also announced it would include reinfection cases going forward because they accounted for about 10% of new confirmed cases. DOH is counting cases that happened at least 90 days after the first whereas previously, a person who reported multiple positive tests within that time period was only counted once.

The state’s average positivity rate declined to 5.6% compared with 6.3% reported the previous week, and back to about where it was on Sept 28.

The number of cases per 100,000 in the state was at 10.3 compared with 11.7 the previous week.

By island, there were 767 cases reported on Oahu, 89 on Hawaii island, 88 on Maui, 80 on Kauai, three on Molokai, and one on Lanai. Another 19 infections were reported for out-of-state Hawaii residents.