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Hawaii COVID-19 positivity rate at 5%; 8 more deaths

ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2021
                                A woman holds two boxes of at-home Covid-19 test kits after waiting in a long line that snakes multiple times around the Shaw Library in Washington.

ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2021

A woman holds two boxes of at-home Covid-19 test kits after waiting in a long line that snakes multiple times around the Shaw Library in Washington.

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 738 new COVID-19 infections over the past week, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 378,481.

The department also reported eight more deaths, bringing the state’s COVID death toll to 1,805. The deaths were among kupuna ages 70 and older on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, and Hawaii.

The state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, meanwhile, fell to 100 compared with 109 on Feb. 1. The state’s average positivity rate, however, ticked up to 5.0% compared with 4.7% the previous week.

The seven-day average is based on an earlier set of seven days (Jan. 29 to Feb. 3) than the week-over-week infection count (Jan. 31 to Feb. 6) because cases from the most recent three days may not have been reported yet.

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

The number of cases per 100,000 in the state fell to 7.1 compared with 7.7 the previous week.

By island, there were 507 cases reported on Oahu, 90 on Hawaii island, 69 on Maui, 69 on Kauai, and one on Lanai. Another two infections were reported for Hawaii residents out of state.

Today, 57 COVID patients are hospitalized, with six in intensive care, according to the Healthcare Association of Hawaii. For the week, the daily average of COVID patients dropped slightly to 55 compared with 57 per day the previous week.

To date, 78.5% of Hawaii’s total population has completed the primary series of COVID vaccinations, according to the Health Department.

A total of 282,199 residents, or 25.3% of the state’s eligible population, have received the bivalent booster.

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