More than Half of New COVID-19 Cases on Maui are Variants

Health officials say more than half of the COVID-19 cases on Maui at this point, as identified through weekly reports, are represented by “variants of concern,” B.1.429 and B.1.427.

“These are the variants that were detected first out of California, and now have been shown to be more transmissible than the wild type strain,” said Dr. Sarah Kemble, acting state epidemiologist at the Department of Health.

“They also raise some concerns about whether some of the therapies like monoclonal antibodies will work as well for people that have those strains,” she said. “I do know that in speaking with the hospitals on Maui, they’ve already moved to order a second agent, so that they could do dual therapy for anyone who would need those therapies because of resistance concerns.”

The state Department of Health reports that there were 100 additional COVID-19 cases reported in Hawai‘i on Wednesday, including 30 on Maui and one on Lāna‘i. There were a total of 1,200 cases logged over the past two weeks, 376 of them in Maui County. 

Maui’s 14 day average for new COVID-19 cases is 28 and test positivity rate over the same period is 3.5 percent.  In comparison, Honolulu’s test positivity rate is 2.2 percent and the statewide rate is 1.9 percent.

There are 19 individuals hospitalized in Maui County with COVID-19, five of them in the ICU and three on ventilators.

There are 12 COVID-19 clusters identified in Maui County, according to a report issued on Thursday, March 25, 2021. This includes: one cluster at a correctional facility, one in an educational setting, three in the travel/lodging/tourism sector, two at bars/nightclub setting, one at a food supplier, two at occupational settings, one at a place of worship, and one at a cleaning service. 

Maui’s case count is on the rise with state officials confirming a large cluster at King’s Cathedral in Kahului. Cases tied to the cluster doubled in the past ten-days and now totals more than 50 COVID-19 cases, according to an update provided this afternoon by the DOH. The cluster at the Maui Community Correctional Center was updated today to include 94 inmates who tested positive (five are currently active and 89 have recovered). 

In Maui County, the DOH reports that 27.4 percent (43,758) of the population have received a first dose of the vaccine; 12.5 percent (19,343) have completed two doses; and an additional 1,582 doses (of single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine) have been initiated and completed. In total, Maui County has administered 64,683 doses among a total population base of 167,488.