449 new COVID-19 cases and 8 more deaths
The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 449 new COVID-19 infections over the past week, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 381,057.
The department noted on its dashboard that this week’s COVID counts are likely an undercount due to an issue with its electronic laboratory reporting system, which has caused a delay in processing lab results.
Eight more deaths were also reported, bringing the state’s coronavirus-related death toll to 1,849.
The state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, meanwhile, was reported at 74 per day, about the same as 73 per day reported on March 8. The state’s average positivity rate was at 4.2% compared with 4.4% the previous week.
The seven-day average is based on an earlier set of seven days (March 4 to 10) than the week-over-week infection count (March 7 to 13) 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.
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The number of cases per 100,000 in the state was at 5.2, the same as the previous week.
By island, there were 307 more cases reported on Oahu, 70 on Hawaii island, 36 on Maui, 31 on Kauai, and two on Molokai. Three infections were reported for Hawaii residents out of state.
To date, 78.7% of Hawaii’s total population has completed the primary series of COVID vaccinations, according to the Health Department. A total of 294,546 residents, representing 26.3% of the state’s eligible population, has received the updated bivalent booster.
Today, there are 41 COVID patients in hospitals with five in intensive care, according to the Healthcare Association of Hawaii. The weekly average of COVID patients in hospitals increased to 50 per day, up from 39 per day the previous week.