State health officials reported 173 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, the highest number of positive test results since the state began releasing numbers in March.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green warned Tuesday that hospitalizations are beginning to surge and that two hospitals in the state were nearing capacity.
“We really, really have to bring these numbers down,” Green said.
The state recorded its 27th death from the virus on Tuesday — a middle-aged Honolulu man with other health problems.
Although elderly people have a higher risk of complications from the virus, most cases in the state have been people under the age of 60. As of Aug. 3, 301 cases in the state were juveniles under 19 years old and 898 people between 20 and 39 years old have been diagnosed with the disease.
The percentage of people testing positive has been rising steadily.
Historically, about 1% to 2% of tests conducted in Hawaii have come back with positive COVID-19 results. On Tuesday that figure was 7.9%.
State health officials warned this week that the virus is widespread on Oahu, and that Hawaii is in a new phase of the pandemic.
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