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Hawaii records 88 new coronavirus infections as statewide tally climbs to 28,509

JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 17
                                People wearing masks walk toward the Pier 2 COVID-19 vaccination site on Wednesday.

JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 17

People wearing masks walk toward the Pier 2 COVID-19 vaccination site on Wednesday.

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported 88 new coronavirus infections, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 28,509 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 538,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 29.7 million.

Today’s new statewide infection cases include 38 on Oahu, 39 on Maui, seven on Hawaii island, two on Molokai and two Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state, according to health officials. As a result of updated information, state health officials re-categorized one case from Kauai was recategorized to Oahu in the counts.

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

>> RELATED: Everything you need to know to sign up for a coronavirus vaccine in Hawaii

The total number of coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 22,419 on Oahu, 2,527 on Maui, 2,354 in Hawaii County, 186 on Kauai, 109 on Lanai and 30 on Molokai. There are also 884 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Health officials also said today that of the state’s total infection count, 781 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 28 today.

By island, Oahu has 402 active cases, Maui has 271, the Big Island has 102, Kauai has two, Lanai has one and Molokai has three.

Health officials counted 6,387 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.38% 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, 1,943 have required hospitalizations, with three 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 1,935 hospitalizations within the state, 1,661 have been on Oahu, 155 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 21 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Tuesday morning, with six in intensive care units and four on ventilators.

The state’s Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said today that 504,891 vaccines have been administered of the 649,080 received by the state. About 22% 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, 480,326 were given to the general public and 24,565 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 March 11 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 32 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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