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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Pedestrians wearing masks walked alongside Kalakaua Avenue, May 4, in Waikiki.
Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 56 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 36,332 cases.
No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 500.
Hawaii’s virus-related death toll hit 500 on Sunday when state officials counted the death of an Oahu woman in her 50s. Despite the milestone, Hawaii’s virus fatality rate remains the lowest in the nation at roughly 35 deaths per 100,000 residents.
The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 388 fatalities on Oahu, 54 on Maui, 53 on Hawaii island, two on Kauai, and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state. The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is over 594,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 33.2 million.
Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island included 30 new cases on Oahu, 19 on Hawaii island, three on Maui, three on Kauai and one Hawaii resident diagnosed outside the state.
The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 27,157 on Oahu, 4,447 on Maui, 2,968 in Hawaii County, 324 on Kauai, 115 on Lanai and 79 on Molokai. There are also 1,242 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.
State health officials began including probable infections in its total case counts last month. Probable infections include people who never received a confirmatory test but are believed to have had the virus because of their known exposure and symptoms or because of a positive antigen test.
Today’s probable infections since the start of the pandemic added to the counts today include 794 on Maui, 737 on Oahu, 64 on Hawaii island, 24 on Molokai, three on Kauai, three on Lanai and 47 residents diagnosed outside the state.
The statistics released today reflect the new infection cases reported to the department on Monday.
Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 757 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 state’s total number of active cases decreased today by seven.
By island, Oahu has 512 active cases, the Big Island has 142, Maui has 79, Molokai has 15, Kauai has nine and Lanai has none.
Health officials counted 5,061 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.11% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.1%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.
The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said that 1,538,504 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of today. Health officials say that more than 50% of the state’s population are now fully vaccinated.
Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,327 have required hospitalizations, with no new hospitalizations today.
Ten hospitalizations in the statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,317 hospitalizations within the state, 1,927 have been on Oahu, 251 on Maui, 124 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 36 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of today, with 10 in intensive care units and seven on ventilators.
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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. 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 until at least Thursday, according to the mayor’s office. But Blangiardi said last week that Honolulu should soon be moving to Tier 4.
The seven-day average case count for Oahu is 32 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 1.4%, state health officials said today.
This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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