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Hawaii sees 22 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 37,669

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Swimmers and beachgoers soaked in the sun at the Magic Island Lagoon at Ala Moana Beach Park, Feb. 19. Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 22 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Swimmers and beachgoers soaked in the sun at the Magic Island Lagoon at Ala Moana Beach Park, Feb. 19. Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 22 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today.

Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 22 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 37,669 cases.

No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 516.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 399 fatalities on Oahu, 57 on Maui, 55 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 604,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 33.6 million.

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 13 new cases on Oahu, two on Maui, two 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 27,821 on Oahu, 4,684 on Maui, 3,253 in Hawaii County, 361 on Kauai, 115 on Lanai and 80 on Molokai. There are also 1,355 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, 68 on Hawaii island, 24 on Molokai, three on Kauai, three on Lanai and 54 residents diagnosed outside the state.

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

Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 551 cases were considered to be active. Official1729966s 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 by 28 today.

By island, Oahu has 330 active cases, the Big Island has 114, Maui has 81 and Kauai has 26.

Health officials counted 2,521 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 0.87% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 1.4%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary says 1,675,553 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Saturday, up 9,608 from a day earlier. Health officials say that 57% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, and 63% have received at least one dose.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,461 have required hospitalizations, with two new hospitalizations reported today.

Eleven hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,450 hospitalizations within the state, 2,022 have been on Oahu, 277 on Maui, 135 on the Big Island, 10 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 35 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Friday, 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.

The seven-day average case count for Oahu is 25 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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