Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Thursday, December 12, 2024 79° Today's Paper


Top News

Hawaii records 1 new coronavirus-related death, 78 additional infections

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                A group wore masks as they walked along Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki on May 25.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

A group wore masks as they walked along Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki on May 25.

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported one new coronavirus-related death and 78 new confirmed and probable infections statewide, bringing the state’s totals since the start of the pandemic to 506 fatalities and 36,871 cases.

The latest death was a Hawaii island man in his 70s who was hospitalized with no significant underlying health conditions, state health officials said in an email. No further information was immediately available regarding the latest death.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 392 fatalities on Oahu, 55 on Maui, 54 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 599,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 33.4 million.

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 33 new cases on Oahu, 10 on Maui, 30 on Hawaii island and five Hawaii residents diagnosed outside 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.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 27,420 on Oahu, 4,564 on Maui, 3,090 in Hawaii County, 327 on Kauai, 115 on Lanai and 79 on Molokai. There are also 1,276 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Today’s probable infections since the start of the pandemic added to the counts today include 810 on Maui, 760 on Oahu, 66 on Hawaii island, 24 on Molokai, three on Kauai, three on Lanai and 51 residents diagnosed outside the state.

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

Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 736 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 increased today by 38.

By island, Oahu has 376 active cases, the Big Island has 214, Maui has 136 and Kauai has 10.

Health officials counted 5,749 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.36% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 0.9%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said that 1,592,739 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Wednesday. Health officials say that more than 54% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,378 have required hospitalizations, with one new hospitalization reported today.

Ten hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,368 hospitalizations within the state, 1,961 have been on Oahu, 264 on Maui, 128 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 30 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Thursday, with 12 in intensive care units and six on ventilators.

Oahu today moved into the less-restrictive Tier 4 of the city’s four-tier economic recovery plan. The change allows social gatherings of up to 25 people at outdoor venues, including at parks and beaches, but the group size for indoor social gatherings remains at 10 people.

>> RELATED: Honolulu moves into less-restrictive Tier 4 coronavirus rules, effective immediately

The seven-day average case count for Oahu is 25 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 1.0%, state health officials said today.


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


By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the Terms of Service. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our guidelines. Having trouble with comments? Learn more here.