HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – In a dramatic rise in new cases, Hawaii on Thursday reported 1,511 additional COVID infections and three more fatalities.
Thursday’s case count is the highest number of single-day infections since August. According to the state Health Department, the highest reported case count was 1,588 on Aug. 27.
The latest infections bring the state’s total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 96,765.
With three additional fatalities, the state’s death toll from the virus has risen to 1,077.
Over the last 14 days, the state says there have been 7,812 cases detected.
Amid an alarming increase in COVID infections, the governor and health leaders are urging the public to be vigilant and take additional precautions.
State Department of Health Director Dr. Libby Char continued to urge the public on Thursday to get a booster shot.
“There are a whole bunch of people that have had two shots and are still getting infected with COVID, and particularly Omicron, because it has such effective immune-evading mutations,” Char said.
And with concerns about COVID spreading during the holidays, Char said people should avoid going to any large gatherings.
“Anywhere where you’re indoors or there’s a lot of people with no mask, that’s high risk, especially if it’s a crowded place, especially when you’re around people who you don’t know or have not been vaccinated.”
Of the new infections reported Thursday:
- 1,293 were on Oahu
- 98 on Maui
- 66 on Hawaii Island
- 29 on Kauai
- 3 on Lanai
There were also 22 people diagnosed out of state.
According to Lt. Gov. Josh Green, 77 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
Even though the number of patients isn’t as high as the surge in the summer, Hawaii’s hospitals are nearly full with those being treated for other ailments and emergencies — and they’ve been struggling to keep up due to staffing shortages.
Dr. Char said there may be a false sense of security that the Omicron variant isn’t as severe as Delta, but that it’s still cause for concern and the state could still see a surge in hospitalizations.
“We’re already seeing hospitalizations kind of creep up, so I don’t think the hospitals are going to be immune from this,” she said. “I think they’re going to see an increase in patients, and we’re trying our best to help them not have giant surges of people that get sick all at once.”
The state is no longer issuing details daily on where COVID deaths occurred, their age ranges, and whether those who died had underlying conditions.
Some 72.4% of the state’s residents are fully vaccinated, while 77.9% have received at least one dose.
This story will be updated.
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