Hawaii’s coronavirus cases rise to 530, up 13
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green, left, and Gov. David Ige wore masks prior to a news conference about the state’s response COVID-19 at the State Capitol Tuesday. Green expressed hope that Hawaii is seeing success in “flattening the curve” of total cases, but cautioned that the public still needs to follow government emergency rules and other safety guidelines.
Hawaii Department of Health officials said today that the state’s tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 530, up 13 from Tuesday.
Of all the confirmed cases in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, 45 have required hospitalizations, with no new hospitalizations reported today, health officials said.
The state’s coronavirus death toll stands at nine, unchanged from Tuesday. Six of the deaths were on Oahu, three were on Maui.
All of the 13 new patients are adults, 12 of whom are Hawaii residents, while the residency of one is unknown. Six of the new cases are community spread, six are travel-related, and the origin of one new case is under investigation, according to the Health Department.
Today’s statewide total includes 369 cases on Oahu, 92 in Maui County, 41 on Hawaii island, and 21 in Kauai County, according to health officials.
The statewide total also includes six Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state. One case in the statewide total is pending identification of county of residency, two fewer than reported Tuesday.
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In all, state officials today reported 11 new cases on Oahu, and four in Maui County. Health officials say that the sum of changes by county is larger “than the number of statewide newly reported cases because of previously reported pending cases being reclassified to county totals as more information is collected.”
A total 359 patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak, with health officials reporting 26 new recoveries today. Nearly 68% of the people who have been infected in Hawaii are now classified as recovered.
By county, Honolulu has seen 271 patients recover, Maui has had 42 recoveries, the Big Island has had 30, and Kauai has seen 16, as of noon today, the Health Department says.
Of the 45 hospitalizations in the state, 37 have been on Oahu, seven on Maui and one on Kauai.
The COVID-19 Information Center said that of the 20,535 coronavirus tests so far conducted by state and clinical laboratories in the islands, 2.6%, have been positive.
The statewide total of coronavirus cases includes one individual at West Loch Elderly Village in Ewa Beach. City officials announced the new case today and said the person is not a resident of the complex. State health officials also announced on Tuesday a cluster of cases associated with two McDonald’s restaurants in Kona.
Today’s count of 13 new cases matched Tuesday’s daily increase, which prompted state officials, including Lt. Gov. Josh Green, to express hope that Hawaii is seeing success in “flattening the curve” of total cases. However, Green and others cautioned that the public needs to continue to follow the state and local government emergency rules, social distancing and other guidelines to keep the coronavirus at bay.
