Hospitalizations are down but deaths are up this week for individuals with COVID-19 throughout Hawaii County, a lagging indicator of the latest omicron surge.
This week, Hawaii County recorded 20 hospitalizations, down 12 from the 32 listed the week before.
Hawaii County experienced two new deaths this week of individuals with COVID-19, a man and a woman both over the age of 80, this is double the total of last week when just one death was reported.
Overall case counts for both the state and county rose, ending the five-week streak of declining cases.
According to state Department of Health data released today, there were 4,464 new COVID cases reported statewide over the last seven days, an increase of 83 cases. For Hawaii County, new cases rose from 516 to 519 this week.
Despite incremental increases, the seven-day average case count for Hawaii County declined again, from 77 down to 67 cases over the last seven-day period.
There also was a drop in the statewide active case count over the past 14-day period, now 7,926, which is 696 less than the week before.
The state’s average positivity rate for tests dropped as well, from 15.1% down to 13.8%.
Overall, the state experienced 12 new deaths over the last seven days, all over the age of 50, with a majority over the age of 80.