State health officials reported a record 355 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, as a large outbreak continues to grow at Oahu’s largest jail.

The Department of Health says at least 86 of Thursday’s cases were linked to the Oahu Community Correctional Center.

The health department also reported the deaths of two Oahu men over the age of 60, bringing the state’s death toll to 40.

Even without the jail cases, Thursday’s numbers would be the highest recorded to date. The previous record high was 231 cases on Saturday.

The state also announced Thursday that a virus outbreak at the Iwilei homeless shelter for men operated by the Institute for Human Services has grown to at least 20 cases among shelter residents since Aug. 5. The shelter is closed to new admissions and all current residents are locked down at the facility and will complete 14 days of isolation or quarantine.

Hawaii has recorded more cases of COVID-19 in the first two weeks of August than all prior months combined since the pandemic began in March.

Hawaii has the fastest-growing infection rate in the country, according to several statistical models.

The effective reproduction rate or Rt — also known as the infection rate — is a mathematical model for how many more people a person is predicted to spread the virus to. When an Rt rate is above 1, COVID-19 is likely to spread quickly and the area should expect to see many more cases.

Rt.live, which was created by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, had Hawaii’s mean value at 1.29 as of Wednesday. Another model from Covid Act Now calculates Hawaii’s infection rate to be at 1.35.

“With the virus actively being spread throughout the community on Oahu, congregate settings like prisons and institutions are at increased risk of introduction and should prepare as the Dept. of Public Safety and IHS have done,” Health Director Dr. Bruce Anderson said in a release. “These agencies were ready and stepped into action quickly, working with the DOH on control and prevention measures to protect those at risk and the community.”

For more information, check the Hawaii Department of Health COVID-19 site and the Hawaii Data Collaborative COVID-19 Tracking site.

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Hawaii COVID-19 Cases By County

Daily New COVID-19 Cases

Number Of Confirmed COVID–19 Cases In U.S.

COVID-19 Cases Worldwide

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