The number of new COVID-19 cases hit 622 statewide Friday, according to the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, but officials said the steep increase was partially due to a buildup of delayed test results.
Gov. David Ige said there have been “some data reporting glitches” that resulted in the unusually high number of cases, but he also said there’s no question the trend is “alarming.”
Previously, the record-high total for confirmed cases reported in a single day was 355 set in August 2020.
Despite the delays in reporting recent positive tests, Ige said the latest total “would be higher than the 355 peak that we saw in last year's rapid escalation of the cases.”
Officials said the surge is associated with the highly contagious delta variant.
Friday's increase followed multiple days of positive cases in the triple digits. The seven-day average of new cases stands at 230.
"The three-day average is more than 300 new cases each and every day. That is an alarming number of cases and more importantly, we’ve seen over the last two to three weeks increasing case numbers — from 40s and 60s to 100 and 150, 200, and over the last three days, we have averaged more than 300 new cases," Ige said.
"The pandemic is not over and the best way forward is for people to get vaccinated," he added.
State Department of Health Director Dr. Libby Char said the so-called “breakthrough cases” of vaccinated people contracting the virus are running at an average of .06% in Hawaiʻi. That means that out of 10,000 vaccinated people, six will develop the virus.
Ige said there was no need to delay plans for reopening schools next week because of the recent increase of coronavirus cases. About 25% of cases Friday were among children, officials said.
“There is risk involved in everything. But I think we also have to be cognizant that there is a cost to not having children in school and having them fall further behind in learning and the continued social isolation," Char said.
The state has reached a 60% fully vaccinated rate statewide. Honolulu County has the highest vaccination rate at 62% and Maui County has the lowest at 54%.
Nearly 67% of Hawaiʻi's population have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the state dashboard.
