Hawaii Island COVID-19 case count hits 659; 27th death reported

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State health officials reported 63 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the statewide total case count to 11,522.

Oahu reported 55 new cases, bringing the state’s most populous island’s case count to 10,338, while Hawaii Island reported eight new cases, increasing the island’s total case count to 659 since Feb. 28, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center.

Maui and Kauai counties each saw their case counts hold steady at 385 and 57, respectively. The number of residents who have tested positive while out of the state also was unchanged at 28.

Of the known cases in Hawaii to date, some 6,530 of those cases are still considered active. That includes 185 of the known cases on Hawaii Island.

Statewide, 749 COVID-19 patients have required hospitalization, including 35 on Hawaii Island, according to the center’s noon update.

On Tuesday, Hawaii County Civil Defense reported one new coronavirus-related death at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home bringing the facility’s death toll to 25. Two deaths have occurred at Hilo Medical Center, bringing the island’s death toll to 27.

The state has yet to confirm the last 12 deaths on the island. Officials previously said they must confirm medical records before listing a death. On Tuesday, the center said more than 20 deaths are “pending verification and classification.”

Of the 120 coronavirus-related deaths confirmed and reported to date among Hawaii residents, 95 were on Oahu, nine were on Maui, 15 were on Hawaii Island, and one was a Kauai resident receiving treatment in Arizona at the time he died.

Also Tuesday, the Department of Public Safety said it completed testing of 164 inmates at Kulani Correctional Facility as part of mass testing at facilities statewide. Results were pending as of press-time.

Meanwhile, no addition COVID-19 cases have cropped up at Hawaii Community Correction Center after the department announced Sunday that a newly admitted inmate at the Hilo facility had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.