Hawaii health officials report 1,132 new COVID-19 infections, 14 deaths

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 1,132 new COVID-19 infections over the past week, lower than the previous weekly count, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 343,204.

Health officials also reported 14 more deaths, bringing the state’s coronavirus-related death toll to 1,679.

Among the deaths were an Oahu woman in her 30s who was not hospitalized, and a Maui man in his 40s who was hospitalized, with underlying conditions. The rest were ages 70 and older.

The state’s seven-day average of new cases fell to 148, down from 161 reported on Sept. 14. The average is based on an earlier set of seven days than the week-over-week infection count.

Overall, the daily average has been falling since the first of June. Health officials have said actual numbers are estimated to be at least five to six times higher since these figures do not include unreported home test kit results.

The state’s average positivity rate also dropped to 6% compared with 6.7% reported the previous week.

And the number of cases per 100,000 in the state was at 10.5, down from 11.4 reported the previous week, continuing a downward trend.

By island, there were 739 new infections reported on Oahu in the past week, 145 on Hawaii island, 115 on Maui, 68 on Kauai, four on Lanai, and two on Molokai. Another 59 infections were reported for out-of-state Hawaii residents.

Hospitalizations continued to steadily decline, with 74 COVID patients reported in Hawaii hospitals today, and five in intensive care.

For the past week, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii reported a seven-day average of 67 COVID patients hospitalized a day, down from 83 the previous week, and an average of 14 new COVID admissions a day.