The state Department of Education saw another sizable increase in COVID-19 cases reported by schools and offices over the past seven days, the first full week for most students returning for the new school year.

Schools and complex areas reported 325 confirmed cases between Aug. 7 and Friday — up from 105 cases the week before, the DOE said Friday.

As would be expected, the vast majority of the infections occurred on Oahu.

But officials said a majority of the cases had no direct impact on school facilities, as the department is required by law to list all cases reported to it.

Excluding cases where the infected person was neither on campus nor required any disinfection of school facilities, there were 50 student cases — 35 at elementary schools and 15 at secondary schools — and 20 staff cases.

“The total case count is higher this week, but considering the size of our organization — more than 200,000 students and employees across the Department — and the level of transmission occurring in the broader community, I think it’s a testament to our schools’ safety protocols that we saw 70 confirmed cases over the past week that had an impact to a HIDOE campus,” interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a news release.

“Although ideally we’d want no cases, it’s important to commend our schools for working diligently to minimize exposure and prevent the spread of COVID by enforcing the core essential strategies, including promoting vaccinations for all who are eligible,” the superintendent said.

State health officials Friday recorded 1,167 new confirmed and probable infections statewide, the highest single-day count since the start of the pandemic.

The state has averaged 729 new COVID-19 cases a day over the past three days. In contrast, the state’s seven-day daily average just a month ago was 50 cases.

At a news conference earlier in the day, Health Director Libby Char reiterated that she was expecting to see a surge in cases with so many students and teachers congregating statewide.

“As far as I know, the schools are actually doing really well. They’ve identified a number of cases, but it’s primarily people who were infected at home and then are coming to school or work with the school,” she said.

“So the good thing is that their mechanism is catching these people and identifying them and helping to keep them off campus or keep it from spreading within the campus.

Char said she was aware of transmission at one or two schools. “But again, it’s a matter of really trying to mitigate,” she said.

There are an estimated 163,000 students at 257 public schools across the state. This was the first full week of classes following a gradual reopening the week before, when there were 105 cases reported, a jump over 23 cases the previous week.

Despite the spike in cases, education officials said they are confident they can keep transmission low with most of the schools on campus for in-person learning.

Hayashi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Spotlight Hawaii livestream program Friday that its virus mitigation measures are working.

But public comments during the show indicated that a lot of people are worried.

“To our parents who may have concerns, I just want to assure you that our school staff are working really, really hard to help support and to the best of their ability ensure everyone’s safety,” he said.

Hayashi said teachers and staff continue to follow four core COVID-19 mitigation strategies: encouraging vaccinations for eligible students, asking students and employees to stay home when they feel sick, strict masking indoors and proper hand hygiene.

Pressed about concerns regarding demands for more distance learning, Hayashi said the department would look at the possibility of adding more remote options in light of the ongoing spike in coronavirus cases.

For now, however, the department is still trying to hire teachers in an effort to take care of a 200-student waiting list.

“We’re going to be doing our best to assess the need,” he said of the remote-learning option. “As a department, we’re always looking to improve our services and how we can support people, so we’ll be definitely taking a look at that going forward.”

Asked whether the department is considering mandating a COVID-19 vaccination for all students, Hayashi said that was a decision for the Health Department.

But in regard to sports, that’s a choice by students, he said, and so the department felt compelled to mandate the COVID-19 shot.

Hayashi said the decision to delay the start of the athletic season until Sept. 24 was done out of caution to help avoid quarantining multiple teams and canceling games, a situation that occurred during the pre­season.