Hawaii County reported three news deaths from COVID-19 this week, bringing the state’s weekly death toll to 11.
The three deaths included a woman above the age of 80 who was not hospitalized, a man above the age of 80 and a woman in the 70-79 age group, both of whom were hospitalized with an underlying condition.
“The reality is that those who are in poor health are more susceptible,” said Gov. David Ige during a livestream with the Honolulu Star Advertiser on Wednesday. “If you’re immune compromised, if you are more inclined to have a poor outcome if you get COVID, you need to continue to take all the precautions. Wear your mask, avoid large gatherings, all those kinds of things still apply for those who are more susceptible.”
A variety of therapeutics are available for those experiencing a severe COVID infection, including Paxlovid and Remdesivir.
“The sooner you recognize that you have COVID, the more the therapeutics are successful in helping your recovery,” Ige said. “I do think that with the therapeutics and the treatments, fewer people have to be afraid of it, but clearly those who have health issues will continue to have to take extreme precaution to avoid getting infected.”
Overall case counts have continued to decline throughout both Hawaii County and the state, although case counts are estimated to be higher due to the increase in at-home testing that goes unreported.
Hawaii County reported 134 new cases this week, a decline from the 205 reported last week.
The average test positivity also declined for both the state and county.
“We’ve had 12 weeks of declining numbers and the percent positivity has dropped,” said Ige. “The seven-day average we announced today is below 200 cases per day for the first time in four or five months.”