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Hawaii sees 102 new coronavirus cases as the statewide tally rises to 29,408

JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 17
                                People wearing masks walk from the Pier 2 COVID-19 vaccination site in Honolulu earlier this month.

JAMM AQUINO / MARCH 17

People wearing masks walk from the Pier 2 COVID-19 vaccination site in Honolulu earlier this month.

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported 102 new coronavirus infections statewide, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 29,408 cases.

State health officials reported no new coronavirus-related deaths as the statewide death toll remains at 462.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 364 fatalities on Oahu, 53 on Hawaii island, 38 on Maui, one on Kauai, and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is more than 549,000 and the nationwide infection tally is over 30 million.

Today’s new statewide infection cases include 61 on Oahu, 26 on Maui, and 15 on Hawaii island, according to health officials.

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

The total number of coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 22,924 on Oahu, 2,779 on Maui, 2,447 in Hawaii County, 189 on Kauai, 110 on Lanai and 34 on Molokai. There are also 925 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Health officials also said today that of the state’s total infection count, 1,104 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 52 today.

By island, Oahu has 639 active cases, Maui has 339, the Big Island has 119, Molokai has six, Kauai has three and Lanai has two.

Health officials counted 6.549 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.5% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.7%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The state’s Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said Thursday that 568,376 vaccines have been administered of the 748,070 received by the state. About 25% 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 50% are age 60 or older. Of the administered vaccines, 543,446 were given to the general public and 24,930 were distributed through the federal pharmacy program, officials said.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 1,978 have required hospitalizations, with three new hospitalizations — two on Maui and one on the Big Island — 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 1,970 hospitalizations within the state, 1,681 have been on Oahu, 168 on Maui, 107 on the Big Island, eight on Kauai, five on Lanai and one on Molokai.

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According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 39 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Thursday morning, with seven in intensive care units and four on ventilators.

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 52 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 1.9%, according to the mayor.


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


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