Hawaii reports 4 new COVID-19 fatalities as total number of cases exceeds 9,200

Honolulu, HAWAII — Hawaii reported four new COVID-19 fatalities on Thursday, pushing the death toll from the virus in the islands since the pandemic began to 79.

All of the deaths — two men and two women — were on Oahu. Officials said all of those who died were elderly, with the youngest in the 60- to 69-year-old age group.

“This is the ninth day in a row with COVID-related deaths and we’ve averaged 2.5 deaths per day over the last two weeks,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, in a post on Twitter.

Separately on Thursday, the Big Island reported a fifth coronavirus fatality at a veterans home in Hilo. The last two COVID-19 deaths on the Big Island do not appear to be in the state’s official count.

Meanwhile, the state said there were 211 new coronavirus cases statewide Thursday: 190 on Oahu; 17 on the Big Island and four on Maui.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said the cases are out of a large batch — 6,291 cases. That translates to a 3.35% positivity rate. It was unclear how many of those tests were part of so-called “surge” testing on Oahu.

The new cases push the statewide total for infections since the pandemic began to 9,202.

Read more at Hawaii News Now