The state reported two additional COVID-19 fatalities on Thursday, bringing the statewide death toll from the virus to 29.

Health officials said one of the victims was an elderly woman with underlying conditions who had been a resident at a Pearl City nursing home.

The other fatality was an elderly man linked to a gym cluster.

Both had been hospitalized.

Health officials said the man’s death underscores how rapidly the virus is spreading through the community. “A close contact of this individual attended a spin class at a gym taught by a person linked to the Hawaiian Airlines cluster,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park, in a news release.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the state did not report the daily COVID-19 case count at noon as it normally does, saying the results would be delayed due to issues with reporting from a private clinical lab.

In just the past two weeks, Hawaii’s caseload has increased 231% — meaning the state has the second-highest rate of new infections in the country.

And officials warn if the surge continues, hospitals in the islands could run out of ICU beds by the end of the month.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said one hospital’s intensive care unit on Oahu was already at capacity on Tuesday.

And with Oahu seeing the highest increases in new cases, neighbor island mayors are urging the governor to reinstate a mandatory quarantine for inter-island travel and keep public schools closed.

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