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Hawaii reports 231 new cases of COVID-19; Oahu man is latest death

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                The parking lot of Kewalo Basin was closed today as the city began enforcing the closures of parks and beaches in response to the resurgence of coronavirus cases on Oahu.
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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM

The parking lot of Kewalo Basin was closed today as the city began enforcing the closures of parks and beaches in response to the resurgence of coronavirus cases on Oahu.

Hawaii health officials reported 231 new coronavirus cases today, raising the statewide total since the start of the pandemic to 3,346.

Today’s new COVID-19 cases include 223 on Oahu, five on Hawaii island and three on Maui, according to the state Department of Health.

In addition, the DOH said an Oahu man, older than 60, died Friday due to COVID-19. His death is being recorded as the 31st since the pandemic began, after a previously reported death on Wednesday, was removed from the tally after her attending physician determined she likely died from an underlying condition, health officials said.

The state is also asking anyone who visited a “gentlemen’s club” from July 23-25 to contact their primary care physician after an employee who was sick worked on July 25.

“Given that people may be infectious before they recognize they have symptoms, anyone who visited (a ‘gentlemen’s club’) between the 23rd and 25th of last month should contact their health-care provider,” state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said today in a news release. “They potentially could have been exposed to COVID-19.”

On Friday, officials announced that the statewide daily infection count surpassed 200 for the first time and that the state’s death toll had risen to 31.

A total of 24 coronavirus-related deaths have been on Oahu, six on Maui, and one was a Kauai resident who died on the mainland.

Today’s statewide coronavirus case total includes 2,964 on Oahu, 182 in Maui County, 128 on Hawaii island, and 47 in Kauai County, according to health officials. The total also includes 23 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state.

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Hawaii’s string of triple-digit increases in new infections over the past week has led state and county to reinstate restrictions, including the 14-day quarantine for interisland arrivals to all islands except Oahu effective Tuesday, and the closure of Honolulu city parks and Oahu beaches starting today.

On Friday, Gov. David Ige and Schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto announced that Oahu’s public schools would start on Aug. 17 with online distance learning for the first four weeks.

As of today, 1,804 infections in Hawaii are known to be active cases, with a total of 1,511 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation,” or about 45% of those infected. The category counts those infected people who have met the criteria for being released from isolation. Forty-four new release cases were reported today.

Friday was the first day in months that the number of active infections was more than 50% of the total number of cases since the outbreak started.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii cases, 237 have required hospitalizations, with six new hospitalizations on Oahu reported today, health officials said. Lt. Gov. Josh Green said today that there are 105 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, including 24 patients in intensive care units and 15 on ventilators.

Two hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 235 hospitalizations within the state, 204 have been on Oahu, 26 on Maui, four on Hawaii island, and one on Kauai.

By county, Honolulu has seen 1,203 patients released from isolation, and Maui has had 147 patients released. Hawaii County has 13 active infections, while Kauai has none, according to Health Department figures.

Officials counted 2,698 new tests in today’s tally, with the 231 positive cases representing about 8.5% of the total tested. Of the 141,944 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, nearly 2.4% have been positive.

Correction: >> Maui has three new COVID-19 infections, while Kauai has none. A previous version of this story said Kauai had three new infections. >> The Department of Health misidentified a “gentlemen’s club” where a suspected case of COVID-19 originated, which was reported in an earlier version of this story. Health officials said they continue to work to identify the club.
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