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Hawaii records 36 new coronavirus cases as statewide total rises to 1,130

STAR-ADVERTISER / June 24
                                A small number of travelers pick up their luggage in Terminal 1 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at Terminal 1 last month. State and county leaders are grappling with when to ease restrictions on trans-Pacific travelers as coronavirus numbers rise in Hawaii and many mainland states.

STAR-ADVERTISER / June 24

A small number of travelers pick up their luggage in Terminal 1 at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at Terminal 1 last month. State and county leaders are grappling with when to ease restrictions on trans-Pacific travelers as coronavirus numbers rise in Hawaii and many mainland states.

Hawaii health officials added 36 new confirmed coronavirus cases today to the statewide total number of infections, which now stands at 1,130 since the start of the outbreak in February.

Today’s new cases include 34 on Oahu, and one each on Kauai and the Big Island.

As of today, 271 infections in Hawaii are active cases, with a total of 840 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation,” about 74% of those infected. Twenty-nine new released cases — 28 on Oahu and one on the Big Island — were reported today. The category counts those infected people who have met the criteria for being released from isolation.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige and the county mayors were meeting for the second straight day to discuss a possible delay to the governor’s plan to allow travelers who test negative for COVID-19 to forego the 14-day quarantine for trans-Pacific arrivals, starting Aug 1. The reassessment of Ige’s plan comes after an uptick in infection cases locally and big spikes in many mainland states in the last weeks.

Ige issued a statement this afternoon, saying, “The mayors and I met yesterday and are meeting again today to assess the current situation and discuss what it might mean for the state, including the planned pre-travel testing program. We are getting input from community leaders as we carefully consider the health and safety of our residents and the financial health of our communities because we know they are interconnected.”

Today’s statewide coronavirus case total includes 842 on Oahu, 130 in Maui County, 97 on Hawaii island, and 43 in Kauai County, according to health officials. The total also includes 18 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state.

The state’s coronavirus death toll remains at 19. Thirteen of the deaths have been on Oahu and six on Maui.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii cases since the start of the outbreak, 123 have required hospitalizations, with one new hospitalizations on Oahu reported today, health officials said.

One hospitalization in the statewide count is a Hawaii resident who was diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 122 hospitalizations within the state, 93 have been on Oahu, 25 on Maui, three on Hawaii island, and one for Kauai.

By county, Honolulu has seen 600 patients released from isolation, and Maui has had 116 patients released. Hawaii island has eight active infections, and Kauai County officials said today that they have five.

Kauai officials also said that the island’s new case today is an adult resident who had been in quarantine as part of a household with previously identified cases. They said all active cases on Kauai remain in isolation.

Of the 90,595 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii, 1.2% have been positive. Health officials counted 1,443 new test results in today’s tally.

>> RELATED: Hawaii health department to shut down restaurants and bars flouting coronavirus precautions

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