Hawaii health officials announced three deaths on Oahu and 119 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including 66 on Oahu, 30 on Maui, 16 on the Big Island and seven residents diagnosed out of state.
The official state death toll from the virus is 328. Civil Beat calculates at least 334 people have died from the disease, including six deaths on Hawaii island confirmed by local authorities still pending medical verification by the state.
According to the data-modeling site Rt.live, Hawaii ranks high right now in the average number of people who become infected by someone with the virus. That number is currently at 1.08.
Vaccination campaigns are underway. Of the 154,150 COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to Hawaii, 75,095 have been administered as of Wednesday, according to the health department. Hawaii is currently in phase 1b of the vaccine rollout plan, which includes seniors 75 and older, first responders and other essential workers.
The state’s first mass vaccination center, managed by Hawaii Pacific Health, opened Monday at the Honolulu Harbor Pier 2 cruise ship terminal for residents age 75 and over and first responders. A second site is planned at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, managed by The Queen’s Health Systems. Vaccinations are by appointment only there and at other facilities offering the shots.
Reporting Lag
Civil Beat’s virus tracker is updated when the state releases its daily numbers. The state posts new data daily at noon. 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.
Across the state, 2.5% of people tested during the past week have been confirmed to have COVID-19. On Oahu, that figure was 2.9%.
Approximately 103 people are hospitalized for COVID-19, with 22 people in intensive care units and 16 using ventilators for breathing support.
During the past month, cases among the 18-44 age cohort appear to be outpacing those among other age groups, according to data from the health department.
Those in the 18-44 year old age range are seeing the highest number of cases on average when compared to other age groups. A similar trend occurred in August during Hawaii’s last wave of infections.
Approximately 82% of the people who have died because of COVID-19 related issues in Hawaii were 60 or older.
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
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