VIDEO: Hawaii coronavirus cases rise to 553, up 12
DENNIS ODA / MARCH 21
Residents drive through Kakaako Waterfront Park to be screened and tested for the coronavirus.
UPDATE: 2:30 p.m.
Gov. David Ige held a news conference this afternoon where he announced a moratorium on rental evictions. Hawaii public schools superintendent Christina Kishimoto announced that distance learning will be extended for the remainder of the school year.
Watch the news conference below.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Hawaii Department of Health officials said today that the state’s tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 553, up 12 from Thursday.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Of all the confirmed cases in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, 48 have required hospitalizations, with three new cases reported today, health officials said.
The state’s coronavirus death toll stands at nine, unchanged from Thursday. Six of the deaths were on Oahu, while three were in Maui.
Eleven of today’s 12 new cases are adults and one is a minor. All but one of the new patients are Hawaii residents, according to the Health Department.
Today’s statewide total includes 380 cases on Oahu, 102 in Maui County, 44 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.
In all, state officials today reported seven new cases each on Oahu and Maui, three on Hawaii island, and no new cases on Kauai.
Health officials say that the sum of changes by county is larger than the number of statewide newly reported cases because five cases that had been previously reported as pending identification of residency have now been reclassified by county.
A total 390 patients have recovered since the start of the outbreak, with health officials reporting 16 new recoveries today. More than 70% of the people who have been infected in Hawaii are now classified as recovered.
By county, Honolulu has seen 292 patients recover, Maui has had 52 recoveries, the Big Island has had 30, and Kauai has seen 16, as of noon today, the Health Department says.
Of the 48 hospitalizations in the state, 40 have been on Oahu, seven on Maui and one on Kauai.
The COVID-19 Information Center said that of the 22,296 coronavirus tests so far conducted by state and clinical laboratories in the islands, 2.5% have been positive.
———
Editor’s Note: This story is developing and will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.
