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VIDEO: Gov. David Ige provides update as Hawaii’s coronavirus death toll rises to 8, confirmed cases at 465

BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Dr. Scott McCaffrey pepares to perform a nasal swab on a front seat passenger to test for the COVID-19 as passengers in the back of a pickup truck look on, awaiting their turn Thursday morning during drive-thru testing at the Waianae Boat Harbor.
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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Dr. Scott McCaffrey pepares to perform a nasal swab on a front seat passenger to test for the COVID-19 as passengers in the back of a pickup truck look on, awaiting their turn Thursday morning during drive-thru testing at the Waianae Boat Harbor.

UPDATE, 2:55 p.m.

Hawaii Health Director Bruce Anderson said the seventh COVID-19 fatality in Hawaii was an “older, medically fragile” hospitalized woman in Honolulu, and the eighth death was an elderly male in the chronic care unit of Maui Memorial Medical Center, which is experiencing a cluster of cases among health care workers and patients.

He said of today’s 23 new confirmed Hawaii cases, one was a minor and the rest are adults. All the new cases are Hawaii residents, except one whose residency has not been determined yet.

2:50 p.m.

Gov. David Ige is hosting a press conference at 2:30 p.m. today.

Also scheduled to speak are Dr. Bruce Anderson, Dept. of Health director, Rona Suzuki, Dept. of Taxation director, and Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, Dept. of Agriculture chairperson.

Watch the briefing below.

Suzuki announced a new online application where travelers to Hawaii can register their itinerary and self-quarantine location online. Travelers can show their information on the app upon arrival at the airport. They are required to check in daily on the app where they will be asked questions about their health.

1:40 p.m.

Hawaii Department of Health officials announced two more deaths from the coronavirus today and said the statewide tally of confirmed infection cases has risen to 465, up 23 from Thursday.

Officials said the seventh death was on Oahu, bringing the island’s total COVID-19 fatalities to five, while the eighth death was on Maui, the third fatality on the Valley Isle. No other details about the new deaths were immediately released.

Of all the confirmed cases in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, 43 have required hospitalizations, with one new hospitalization reported today, health officials said.

Today’s statewide total includes 343 cases on Oahu, 66 in Maui County, 31 on Hawaii island, and 19 in Kauai County, according to health officials.

The statewide total also includes two Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state.

Four cases in the statewide total are pending identification of county, which includes one new case reported today.

In all, state officials today reported nine new coronavirus cases on Oahu, nine in Maui County, three on Hawaii island, and one new case on Kauai. Health officials say that the sum of changes by county is less than the number of statewide newly reported cases because of a previously reported pending case “being reclassified to county totals as more information is collected.”

A total 284 patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak, with health officials reporting 33 new recoveries today. More than 60% of the people who have been infected in Hawaii are now classified as recovered.

By county, Honolulu has seen 211 patients recover, Maui has had 36 recoveries, the Big Island has had 25, and Kauai has seen 12 recoveries, as of noon today, the Health Department says.

Of the 42 hospitalizations in the state, 36 have been on Oahu, six on Maui and one on Kauai.

On Thursday, health officials announced seven new COVID-19 cases in Hawaii, the lowest daily increase in more than two weeks. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Honolulu police Chief Susan Ballard, meanwhile announced increased enforcement of stay-at-home emergency orders, including a pilot curfew program starting tonight. The Honolulu Fire Department will also start using drones at several Oahu beaches to monitor compliance with the emergency orders, city officials announced earlier today.

RELATED STORY: Hawaii military has just over 30 cases of new coronavirus


Update: The Health Department revised today’s initial tally to include one more Maui confirmed COVID-19 case, bringing the statewide total to 465, an increase of 23 from Thursday, and Maui’s total to 66. In addition, the added Maui case also increased that island’s number of hospitalizations to six, raising the statewide number of hospitalizations to 43.


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