4 new COVID-19 deaths, 265 new cases in Hawaii as statewide tally climbs to 7,830

Hawaii Department of Health officials reported four new COVID-19 deaths and 265 new coronavirus cases, bringing the statewide totals since the beginning of the pandemic in February to 7,830 cases and 59 fatalities.

Three of the coronavirus-related deaths were Oahu residents — a man and woman, between the age of 70 and 79, and a man over 80 years old — and the fourth victim was a Maui woman over the age of 80, health officials said today. Lt. Gov. Josh Green said today’s latest victims all were hospitalized with underlying conditions.

“We had four people die yesterday,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said this morning during a conversation on Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Spotlight Hawaii. “We had three people (on Oahu) die today.”

A total of 50 Hawaii deaths have been on Oahu, eight on Maui, while one was a Kauai resident who died on the mainland. The U.S. death toll is over 181,000 today.

The surge of infections on Oahu prompted Gov. David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell to implement a “stay at home, work from from” lockdown order for two weeks that began Thursday morning. State officials warned Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases will continue to climb as more people get tested at mass testing sites.

>> RELATED: U.S. Surgeon General warns spike will continue as Hawaii COVID-19 cases climb above 300

Health officials today reported 233 new cases today on Oahu, 26 new cases on Hawaii island and six new cases in Maui County. As a result of updated information, one case from Honolulu was removed from total tally.

Today’s total coronavirus cases by county since the start of the outbreak included 7,147 on Oahu, 279 in Hawaii County, 56 in Kauai County and 324 in Maui County. The total statewide counts also include 24 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed out of state.

As of today, 5,361 infections are considered active cases statewide, with a total of 2,410 patients now classified by health officials as “released from isolation,” or nearly 31% of those infected. The category counts those infected people who have met the criteria for being released from isolation. Thirty-nine new release cases were reported today.

Hawaii’s long run of triple-digit increases in daily new cases has led the federal government to join with state and Honolulu leaders to start “surge testing” on Oahu, with plans to administer 5,000 people each day over the next 12 days. For more information or to make a test reservation, go to doIneedacovid19test.com.

Officials counted 2,757 new tests in today’s tally, with today’s 265 positive cases representing 10% of the total tested. Of the 190,910 coronavirus tests conducted so far by state and clinical laboratories in Hawaii since the start of the outbreak, a total of 4% have been positive.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii cases, 485 have required hospitalizations, with 23 new hospitalizations reported today, health officials said.

Green said today there are now 279 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in Hawaii hospitals, with 55 of them in intensive care units and 38 on ventilators. He said that 142, or 58%, of the state’s 244 ICU beds, and 78, or 17%, of Hawaii’s 459 ventilators are now in use, by both coronavirus and non-virus patients.

Two hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 483 hospitalizations within the state, 427 have been on Oahu, 42 on Maui, 13 on Hawaii island, and one on Kauai.

By county, Honolulu has seen 2,018 patients released from isolation, and Maui has had 176 patients released. Hawaii County has 117 active infections, while Kauai has one, 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.

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This breaking news story will be updated again.