Four new cases were reported by the Hawaii Department of Health on Thursday, taking the state infection count to 596 to date.

Many have recovered — 455 verified patients have been released from isolation, according to the department, accounting for 76% of all infections to date. About 63 people have been hospitalized, but there may be other patients not yet diagnosed and included in the department’s figures.

In a span of three days, seven more seniors were reported by DOH to be hospitalized. On Monday, there were 35 people aged 60 and over hospitalized. But by Wednesday, 42 seniors were hospitalized, accounting for one-quarter of all seniors to fall ill in the state to date.

About one-quarter of seniors who have contracted COVID-19 in Hawaii have been hospitalized. Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2020

People 60 years and over account for about 28% of verified COVID-19 cases to date. Those who are aged 40 to 59 years old make up the largest cohort of infections, or 210 people to date, 15 of whom have been hospitalized.

Younger adults between the age of 20 and 39 account for the the second-highest number of infections documented in the state. Approximately 196 infected people are in that age group, and six of them have been hospitalized.

Daily case counts reported by DOH fluctuate and lag, depending on when specimens were collected and where they were processed. The median delay time between a patient’s swab sample and the test result report date is three days, according to DOH.

The confirmed cases reported each day are likely among patients who had symptoms that date back as many as 10 days prior. DOH receives electronic reports of positive cases and that’s when it initiates an investigation.

Approximately 26,640 people have been tested for the virus in Hawaii to date.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19, as of Wednesday. Department of Health

The infection count on Oahu rose by one to 389 on Thursday. Nine more people had recovered as of Thursday in Honolulu County. About 85% of Oahu patients, or 337 people, have recovered in Honolulu County to date. Approximately 53 people are hospitalized on Oahu for the coronavirus. Seven people on Oahu have died due to COVID-19 complications.

CORONAVIRUS IN HAWAII

On Maui, the department’s verified infection count rose by two to 112. No new recoveries were reported on Thursday for Maui. Approximately 60 Maui patients have recovered enough to be released from isolation to date. A total of nine people are currently in the hospital on Maui for COVID-19 related care. Five people on Maui have died due to COVID-19 complications.

On the Big Island, one more COVID-19 case was announced by the health department on Thursday, taking its infection count to 68. No one in Hawaii County has been hospitalized or died because of the coronavirus, the health department reports. As of Thursday, one more person recovered, making 39 released from recovery on the Big Island to date.

Kauai’s COVID-19 case count remains at 21, where it has stayed for nearly two weeks. One more person was reported to have recovered, making 19 people on Kauai to date. Only one Kauai patient has been hospitalized. No one has died in Kauai County to date.

Six other Hawaii residents have been diagnosed outside of Hawaii.

To date, a total of 12 people have died in Hawaii due to coronavirus-related complications, according to DOH.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell extended Oahu’s stay-at-home order until May 31, but said some parts of the order could be relaxed over the next month.

Relaxing restrictions largely depends on COVID-19 testing capabilities. Many  active surveillance, rapid diagnostic testing and quarantine will be necessary to keep the virus under control and reopen the economy.

A volunteer at the Convention Center assembles personal protective equipment for health care workers. Jonathan Hilts/2020

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations continues to register record . The department has received as many as 25,000 filings in one day.

Additional staff and volunteers have helped to speed up processing times, DLIR Director Scott Murakami said Thursday.

The department is creating a new system for federal pandemic fund payments for self-employed individuals and gig workers to be launched in May.

Support Independent, Unbiased News

Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in ±á²¹·É²¹¾±Ê»¾±. When you give, your donation is combined with gifts from thousands of your fellow readers, and together you help power the strongest team of investigative journalists in the state.

 

About the Author