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2 new COVID-19 deaths and 169 new coronavirus cases as Hawaii’s total climbs to 6,769

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / AUG. 23
                                Premier Medical Group Hawai medical assistant Darolyn Strong administers a COVID-19 test to Michael Alfonso at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Kakaako Waterfront Park on Sunday.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / AUG. 23

Premier Medical Group Hawai medical assistant Darolyn Strong administers a COVID-19 test to Michael Alfonso at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Kakaako Waterfront Park on Sunday.

Hawaii Department of Health officials reported two new COVID-19 deaths on Oahu and 169 new coronavirus cases today, bringing the statewide totals to 6,769 infections and 49 coronvirus-related fatalities since the start of the pandemic in the islands in late February.

Today’s latest fatalities were an Oahu man and woman, both over 80 years old with underlying health conditions, health officials said in an email this afternoon.

A total of 41 deaths have been on Oahu, seven on Maui, while one was a Kauai resident who died on the mainland. The U.S. death toll is over 177,000 today.

Today’s new COVID-19 cases include 150 on Oahu, 10 in Maui County, and nine on Hawaii island, according to the state Department of Health’s noon tally. Of the 169 new cases, health officials said 149 were adults and 20 were youth under 18 years old. Two of those cases are non-Hawaii residents, 157 are Hawaii residents and 10 have yet to be identified.

The statewide coronavirus case totals by county since the beginning of the outbreak include 6,181 on Oahu, 300 on Maui County, 209 on Hawaii island and 56 on Kauai County, according to health officials. The total also includes 23 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside of the state.

As of today, 4,548 infections in Hawaii are considered active cases, with a total of 2,172 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation,” or about 32% of those infected. The category counts those infected people who have met the criteria for being released from isolation. Twenty-nine new release cases — 23 on Oahu, three on Hawaii island, two on Kauai County and one on Maui County — were reported today.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii cases, 399 have required hospitalizations, with three new hospitalizations — two on Oahu and one on Hawaii island — reported today, health officials said.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said today that there are 250 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, including 42 patients in intensive care units and 34 on ventilators.

Two hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 397 hospitalizations within the state, 352 have been on Oahu, 36 on Maui, eight on Hawaii island, and one on Kauai.

Officials counted 2,026 new tests in today’s tally, with today’s 169 positive cases representing 8.3% of the total tested. Of the 180,850 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, a total of 3.7% have been positive.

By county, Honolulu has seen 1,807 patients released from isolation, and Maui has had 168 patients released. Hawaii County has 65 active infections, while Kauai has two, according to Health Department figures.

Hawaii’s daily new-case count hit triple digits for the first time in late July, and has remained there for most of August, with the vast majority of confirmed infections on Oahu. On Aug. 13, the state’s daily new-case count reached a record 355.

>> RELATED: Hawaii health officials say more triple-digit coronavirus cases will compromise hospitals

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This breaking news story will be updated again.

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