The Big Island’s COVID-19 case count increased by 10 Thursday as the number of doses of the COVID vaccine administered prepared to pass 100,000.
With the new coronavirus cases reported Thursday, Hawaii County’s total case count stood at 2,557 since Feb. 28, 2020. Statewide, 122 new cases were reported by the Department of Health. Oahu reported 70 of those cases, Maui County 40 and Kauai one. Two residents were diagnosed while outside the state.
Statewide, 30,485 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the end of last February. The Big Island on Thursday had a 1.6% test positivity rate, just under the statewide rate of 1.8%.
Over the past two weeks, the Big Island has reported 153 cases, or an average of 10 cases per day. In the past 14 days, 54 cases have been reported in Hilo and 45 in Kailua-Kona.
A number of those Kona cases were tied to a cluster of cases associated with the University of the Nations in Kona. According to the state’s Thursday cluster report, 32 cases have been tied the faith-based school.
Two other clusters were reported by the state on Thursday. One was related to a social gathering in which 12 people were infected. The other was connected to a place of worship with a total of six cases.
Statewide, 50 people were hospitalized Thursday, with four hospitalized on the Big Island. To date, 2,364 people have required hospitalization, including 121 on the Big Island.
Three new coronavirus-related deaths were reported on Thursday by the state. One was on Oahu and two were on Maui. Of the 470 coronavirus-related deaths confirmed and reported by the state to date, 370 were on Oahu, 43 were on Maui, 53 were on the Big Island and one on Kauai. Three deaths were among residents outside the state.
Meanwhile Thursday, the number of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered on the Big Island neared 100,000.
Hawaii to date has been awarded 817,640 COVID-19 vaccine doses of which 812,640 had been received as of Thursday, according to the state. Of the doses of Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson &Johnson vaccines received, 84% or 681,722 doses have been administered statewide. That figure includes including 99,775 doses on the Big Island.
An additional 87,640 doses have been administered via the Federal Pharmacy Program and another 119,410 via federal agency doses for a total of 888,772 doses of vaccine administered across the Aloha State.
Thirty-two percent of the Big Island population has received at least one dose and 19% have completed the vaccination process, according to the Department of Health. An estimated 55% of the population age 60 and older has received at least one dose with 71% of the island’s kupuna 75 and older having received at least one dose. About 63% of kupuna 75 and older are fully inoculated.
The state also announced Thursday that vaccine eligibility will expand to people age 50 and older on Oahu. The Big Island is already vaccinating 16 and over at Kona Community Hospital and Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital.