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Hawaii sees 64 new coronavirus cases as the statewide infection tally rises to 30,909

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Honolulu remains under Tier 3 coronavirus pandemic restrictions despite a recent rise in infection cases in the state. Shown here, people enjoy a cloudless day at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki Saturday.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Honolulu remains under Tier 3 coronavirus pandemic restrictions despite a recent rise in infection cases in the state. Shown here, people enjoy a cloudless day at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki Saturday.

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported 64 new coronavirus infections statewide, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 30,909 cases.

State health officials reported no new coronavirus-related deaths as the statewide death toll remains at 471.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 370 fatalities on Oahu, 53 on Hawaii island, 44 on Maui, one on Kauai, and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is more than 563,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 31.3 million.

Today’s new statewide infection cases include 39 on Oahu, 18 on Maui, six on Hawaii island, and one Hawaii resident diagnosed outside the state, according to health officials.

As a result of updated information, one Hawaii island case was removed from the counts.

The statistics released today reflect the new infection cases reported to the department on Sunday.

In a new development, the state is opening up more visitors to bypass quarantine.

Beginning Saturday, travelers from Taiwan and Southern California’s Ontario International Airport will be allowed to bypass the mandatory 10-day quarantine if they take a COVID-19 test from a trusted partner, Gov. David Ige announced today.

>> RELATED: Vaccination exemption could start May 1 for some Hawaii travelers

The total number of coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 23,836 on Oahu, 3,148 on Maui, 2,589 in Hawaii County, 199 on Kauai, 111 on Lanai and 34 on Molokai. There are also 992 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Health officials also said today that of the state’s total infection count, 1,277 cases were considered to be active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The number of active cases in the state decreased by one today.

By island, Oahu has 818 active cases, Maui has 322, the Big Island has 126, Kauai has 10 and Lanai has one. Molokai has no active infection cases.

Health officials counted 4,796 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.33% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.6%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The state’s Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said that 973,793 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of today. A total of 32% of the state’s population have received at least one vaccine dose.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,059 have required hospitalizations, with 14 new hospitalizations reported today by state health officials.

Eight hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,051 hospitalizations within the state, 1,738 have been on Oahu, 188 on Maui, 110 on the Big Island, nine on Kauai, five on Lanai and one on Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 47 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Monday morning, with 11 in intensive care units and seven on ventilators.

Oahu moved into the less-restrictive Tier 3 of the city’s four-tier economic recovery plan on Feb. 25 after being in Tier 2 since Oct. 22. Tier 3 permits social and outdoor recreational gatherings of up to 10 people, and restaurants to seat 10 people at a table, up from five now. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on March 11 announced modifications to Tier 3, including allowing bars to reopen under the same conditions as restaurants and extending the curfew until midnight.

Honolulu will remain in Tier 3 of the city’s COVID-19 reopening framework for at least the next four weeks, Blangiardi said last week.

Today’s seven-day average case count for Oahu is 60 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 2.1%, according to the mayor.


This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.


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