HAWAII VIRUS TRACKER — Dec. 19: 156 New COVID-19 Cases

More than 20,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Hawaii since the pandemic began.

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Health officials reported 156 new COVID-19 cases statewide on Saturday, including 116 on Oahu, 21 on the Big Island, 14 on Maui, one on Kauai and four Hawaii residents diagnosed out of state.

The official state death toll is 281. Civil Beat calculates at least 286 people have died from the disease in Hawaii, including five deaths on Hawaii island that are still pending medical verification by the state. Hawaii County Civil Defense has recorded 49 deaths on the Big Island.

Reporting Lag

Civil Beat’s virus tracker is updated when the state releases its daily numbers. The state posts new data daily at noon. The daily reports reflect laboratory results collected up until 11:59 p.m. two days prior, leaving a 36-hour lag between when results are submitted to the Department of Health and when the state reports them publicly.

Oahu remains in Tier 2 of its reopening plan. In the last seven days, the island has seen an average of 95 new cases reported daily. Approximately 3.4% of tests conducted on the island were positive last week. The island must see a testing positivity rate of 2.49% or lower for two consecutive weeks to enter Tier 3, which would loosen some restrictions.

According to Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Hawaii Department of Health, the COVID-19 case reports are based on test results from laboratories statewide and include both residents and tourists.

Hawaii residents who test positive out of state also are included, as well as cases confirmed among military service members and their families, although military cases are not specifically identified.

There were 1,529 cases recorded during the past two weeks — a metric that the health department uses as a proxy to estimate how many people have active infections.

For more information, check this Hawaii Department of Health COVID-19 site or this state site, and the Hawaii Data Collaborative COVID-19 Tracking site. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency also provides this comprehensive dashboard.

Cases, Deaths And COVID-19 Testing In Hawaii

20,015
COVID-19 Cases
286
Deaths
764,373
Tests performed

Honolulu’s 7-Day Averages

Tier 2
Current Tier*
95
Daily Case Count
3.4%
Test Positivity
Source: The City and County of Honolulu
* The current case numbers and test positivity rate may not correlate with the metrics set for a specific tier as the county must spend at least four consecutive weeks in a tier and meet the metrics for the next tier before advancing, according to the reopening plan. More information of the City and County of Honolulu’s reopening strategy as well as details of the restrictions of Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 can be found at oneoahu.org

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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