State health officials are keeping a cautious watch on the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The strain is more transmissible and can cause more severe side effects than other variants.
Hawaiʻi has four detected cases of the Delta coronavirus variant. Three of them involving Hawaiʻi residents coming back from the U.S. mainland. Three cases are on Oʻahu and one is on the Hawaiʻi Island.
Dr. Edward Desmond, Administrator of the State Laboratories Division, warned that there could be more Delta variants in Hawaiʻi. "Dr. Fauci said in today’s press conference that he expects the Delta variant to double in its proportion of cases every two weeks or so," Desmond said.
"We think that we have found community spread of the virus here in Oʻahu. We were looking at something that happened three weeks ago. We think that during the ensuing three weeks that it has spread even further, so this is a matter of concern," he explained.
Dr. Desmond says the vaccines are effective against the Delta coronavirus variant. Currently, 57% of Hawaiʻi’s population is fully vaccinated.
