Hawaii sees triple digit cases with 124 new infections for the third day in a row as the nationwide number tops 39,000

Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported 124 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of cases in the state since the pandemic started to 39,090.

Hawaii recorded three-digit new cases for the third day in a row. The state recorded 147 new infections on Friday and 166 new infections on Thursday.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said the surge was “no doubt” related to gatherings on the July 4th holiday weekend.

“I expect the cases will likely decrease by next weekend or sooner, but we will continue to see outbreaks in underinoculated areas. Labor (Day) weekend will be as risky as the weekend of July 4th, ”Green told the star advertiser in a text message.

He also said the new cases almost entirely affect people who haven’t been vaccinated, adding that they account for 95% of COVID-19 hospital admissions. He called the trend a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”.

The star advertiser reached out to the state health department and Governor David Ige’s office, but neither was immediately available for comment.

No new virus-related deaths were reported today, so the nationwide death toll from COVID-19 remains at 523.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 405 deaths in Oahu, 57 in Maui, 56 in Hawaii, two in Kauai, and three Hawaiian residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll is over 608,000 today and the nationwide infection count is more than 34 million.

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 81 new cases in Oahu, nine in Maui, 20 in Hawaii, 12 in Kauai, and two Hawaiian residents diagnosed outside of the state.

State health officials have added likely infections to the total number of cases. Likely infections include people who have never received a confirmatory test, but who are believed to have had the virus based on their known exposure and symptoms, or a positive antigen test.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the outbreak began is 28,670 in Oahu, 4,801 in Maui, 3,445 in Hawaii County, 465 in Kauai, 115 in Lanai and 81 in Molokai. There are also 1,513 Hawaiian residents diagnosed outside of the state.

Infections likely today since the pandemic began include 842 in Maui, 819 in Oahu, 79 in Hawaii, 24 in Molokai, three in Kauai, three in Lanai, and 60 residents diagnosed outside of the state.

Statistics released today reflect the new cases of infection reported to the department on Thursday.

Health officials also said today that of the total number of infections in the state, 1,007 cases were considered active. Officials say they consider the infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The state’s total number of active cases is up 69 today.

By island, Oahu has 679 active cases, Big Island has 164, Maui has 86, Kauai has 77, and one on Molokai.

Health officials counted 4,009 new COVID-19 test results on today’s balance sheet, corresponding to a nationwide positivity rate of 3.09%. The state’s average 7-day positivity rate is 2.9%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data Dashboard.

The latest COVID-19 vaccine round-up from Hawaii states that 1,723,223 doses of vaccine had been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Thursday, 2,308 more than the previous day. Health officials say 59.1% of the state’s population are now fully vaccinated and 65% have received at least one dose.

Of all confirmed cases of infection in Hawaii, 2,554 hospital admissions had to be made, with four new hospital admissions reported today.

Fourteen hospitalizations in the total statewide are residents of Hawaii who have been diagnosed and treated outside of the state. Of the 2,540 hospital stays in the state, 2,088 were on Oahu, 290 on Maui, 145 on the Big Island, 11 on Kauai, five on Lanai, and one on Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data Dashboard, a total of 58 patients with the virus were in hospitals in Hawaii as of Friday, including 13 in intensive care units and nine on ventilators.

This breaking news will be updated as more information becomes available.