Hawaii counts 173 new coronavirus cases, all on Oahu
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Pedestrians, masked and unmasked, stroll along Kalakaua Avenue on Monday. With a spike in coronavirus cases in Hawaii, state and county officials are urging residents and visitors to wear masks and practice physical distancing when out in public.
The state Department of Health reported 173 new coronavirus cases today, all on Oahu, bringing the statewide total since the outbreak began to 2,763.
The new-case total represents a single-day record for Hawaii. Officials on Monday announced a record 207 new COVID-19 cases, but 114 of those were the result of delayed reporting from the previous weekend.
One Maui case was removed from today’s count due to updated data, officials also said.
On Tuesday, officials announced Hawaii’s 27th coronavirus-related death, a Honolulu man between 40- and 59-years-old who had underlying medical conditions. According to the Honolulu Medical Examiner, the man, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died July 29, but an investigation into the exact cause of death continues, they said.
Twenty of Hawaii’s coronavirus-related deaths have been on Oahu, six on Maui, and one Kauai resident who died outside the state.
>> RELATED: Hawaii’s hospitals could hit capacity in a week, health care leader warns
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Today’s statewide coronavirus case total includes 2,394 on Oahu, 177 in Maui County, 122 on Hawaii island, and 47 in Kauai County, according to health officials. The total also includes 23 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state.
Health officials said 162 of today’s new cases were adults and 11 were children. They also said this afternoon that with the “rate of rise in cases and the lack of enforcement of restrictions,” they expect the number of cases to keep rising “until there is consistent, community-wide adherence to safe practices.”
As of today, 1,334 infections in Hawaii are known to be active cases, with a total of 1,402 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation,” or about 51% of those infected. The category counts those infected people who have met the criteria for being released from isolation. Forty-eight new release cases were reported today.
Officials counted 2,383 new tests in today’s tally, with the 173 positive cases representing about 7.3% of the total tested. Of the 134,909 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, nearly 2% have been positive. However positive test rates have been significantly higher in the last week, including nearly 8% on Tuesday.
Of all the confirmed Hawaii cases since the start of the outbreak, 214 have required hospitalizations, with six new hospitalizations on Oahu reported today, health officials said.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green, who on Tuesday said that 138 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized in Hawaii, revised that number today to 83, including 15 in intensive care units and 13 on ventilators.
Two hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 212 hospitalizations within the state, 181 have been on Oahu, 26 on Maui, four on Hawaii island, and one on Kauai.
By county, Honolulu has seen 1,104 patients released from isolation, and Maui has had 139 patients released. Hawaii County has seven active infections, while Kauai has two, according to Health Department figures.
