State health officials on Sunday reported 105 new cases of COVID-19, including 11 new cases on Hawaii Island.
With the new cases, Hawaii Island’s total case count reached 517 while the statewide tally hit 9,958, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center. Since Aug. 25, Hawaii Island’s case count has increased by nearly 300% from 130 cases.
Meanwhile, the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo reported an eighth coronavirus-related death among its residents. To date, however, the state Joint Information Center has reported just three deaths on the island.
Also reporting new cases were Oahu, which saw its case count increase by 90 to 9,000, and Maui County, which reported four new cases bringing its total case count to 358 since Feb. 28, according to the center.
Kauai County’s tally held steady at 58 as did the number of resident who have tested positive while out of the state at 26.
Of the 9,855 cases identified in Hawaii since Feb. 28, some 6,931 of those cases are still considered active. That includes 290 of the known cases on Hawaii Island.
Statewide, 598 COVID-19 patients have required hospitalization, including 21 on Hawaii Island, according to the center’s noon update.
The center also reported one new coronavirus-related death on Oahu, but provided no additional details.
Of the 86 deaths reported among Hawaii residents, 74 were on Oahu, eight were on Maui, three were on Hawaii Island, and one was a Kauai resident receiving treatment in Arizona at the time he died.
The Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center has yet to report the last five Hawaii Island deaths. The department said it must confirm the death through a verification process before releasing the information.
All eight Hawaii Island deaths related to COVID-19 have occurred at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home.
To date 58 residents and 18 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Avalon Healthcare, the managing company running the veterans home operations. Two of the residents are currently hospitalized at Hilo Medical Center and another 34 are being cared for at the veterans home’s “COVID designated area.”
The area is physically separated from the rest of the facility and has dedicated staff who only care for the residents on that unit.
Fourteen residents and one employee has recovered, the company said Monday.
“We are working diligently to limit the spread of the virus to other residents of the facility and are communicating this news to our residents, staff, and their loved ones,” the company said in its Monday update. “We are strictly limiting access to the building and carefully screening all people entering our facility in accordance with CDC and CMS guidelines. At this time, only essential visitors and vendors are being allowed access to the building as determined on a case-by-case basis.”
Avalon Healthcare said Sunday that based upon contact tracing, “we believe the virus entered the facility through an asymptomatic staff member who was exposed in the community.”
