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Hawaii sees 55 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 37,484

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Masked and unmasked pedestrians cross Kona Street on Wednesday in Honolulu. Oahu reported more than 25 new cases in a day on Thursday for just the second time since June 12.
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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Masked and unmasked pedestrians cross Kona Street on Wednesday in Honolulu. Oahu reported more than 25 new cases in a day on Thursday for just the second time since June 12.

Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 55 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 37,484 cases.

No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 513.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 397 fatalities on Oahu, 57 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 more than 603,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 33.5 million.

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 29 new cases on Oahu, 10 on Maui, seven on Kauai, six on Hawaii island, one on Molokai and two Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state.

>> RELATED: Nearly all COVID deaths in U.S. are now among unvaccinated

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 27,715 on Oahu, 4,663 on Maui, 3,228 in Hawaii County, 356 on Kauai, 115 on Lanai and 80 on Molokai. There are also 1,327 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 817 on Maui, 774 on Oahu, 66 on Hawaii island, 24 on Molokai, three on Kauai, three on Lanai and 53 residents diagnosed outside the state.

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

Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 628 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 eight.

By island, Oahu has 321 active cases, the Big Island has 171, Maui has 106 and Kauai has 30.

Health officials counted 3,428 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 1.6% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.5%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary says 1,661,972 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Wednesday, up 4,748 from a day earlier. Health officials say that 57% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, and 62% have received at least one dose.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,436 have required hospitalizations, with 10 new hospitalizations reported today.

Ten hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,426 hospitalizations within the state, 2,005 have been on Oahu, 272 on Maui, 133 on the Big Island, 10 on Kauai, 5 on Lanai and one on Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 41 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Wednesday, with eight in intensive care units and three on ventilators.

Oahu this month 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.

Hawaii is expected to reach a statewide vaccination rate of 60% on July 4, which is expected to trigger far less restrictive travel and gathering levels on July 8.

>> RELATED: Hawaii to relax travel, gathering rules starting July 8 once vaccination goals met


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


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