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Hawaii COVID-19 positivity rate at 6.8%; 5 more deaths recorded

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 1,068 new COVID-19 infections over the past week, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 375,925.

DOH also reported five more deaths, bringing the state’s COVID death toll to 1,775.

The state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, meanwhile, was 162 compared with 170 on Jan. 11. The state’s average positivity rate declined to 6.8% compared with 7.5% the previous week.

The seven-day average is based on an earlier set of seven days (Jan.7 to 13) than the week-over-week infection count (Jan. 10 to 16) because cases from the most recent three days may not have been reported yet.

Actual numbers are also estimated to be several times higher since these figures do not include unreported home test kit results.

The number of cases per 100,000 in the state fell to 11.5 compared with 12.0 for the previous week.

By island, there were 722 cases reported on Oahu, 141 on Hawaii island, 131 on Maui, 47 on Kauai, and two on Molokai. Another 25 infections were reported for Hawaii residents out of state.

To date, 78.5% of Hawaii’s population has completed the primary series of COVID vaccinations, according to the Health Department.

Vaccination rates have declined steeply since November, with only about 53,000 doses administered that month compared to about 105,000 in October, according to DOH data. Approximately 32,000 doses were administered in December, and only about 10,000 have been administered so far this month.

A total of 272,729 residents, or 24.4% of the state’s eligible population, have received the bivalent booster.

There are 91 COVID patients in hospitals today, with 10 in intensive care, according to the Healthcare Association of Hawaii. For the week, the daily average of COVID patients per day increased to 94 compared with 88 the previous week.

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