(BIVN) – There were 50 newly reported cases of COVID-19 in the State of Hawaiʻi on Wednesday. Nine (9) new cases were identified on Hawaiʻi island, with one (1) person hospitalized.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health says there have been 61 cases of COVID-19 reported on Hawaiʻi island in the past 14 days. Hawaiʻi County has seen an average 1.1% test positivity rate over the last 14 days, with an average of four (4) new cases per day.

On the health department’s zip code area map showing reported COVID-19 cases with onset dates in the past 14 days, there are two (2) areas on the Big Island with a total of over 10 cases.

• 96740 (Kona) – 18 cases
• 96720 (Hilo) – 15 cases

To date, the State of Hawaiʻi says 1,480,432 cumulative doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered; an increase of 6,716 from May 25th.

HCCC Inmate Case Cluster Now At Six

From the Hawaiʻi Department of Public Safety:

The Hawaii Community Correctional Center (HCCC) reports four inmate test results. Of that number, two were positive and two were negative. That brings the total positive inmate cases at the facility to six. One positive inmate was released for full sentence served and is being assisted by the Department of Health (DOH) with quarantine housing. Two of the three housing units remain in quarantine. HCCC has enacted their pandemic protocol to suspend all inmate movement going out of the facility as a precaution. The facility health care staff and DOH are conducting contact tracing and coordinating voluntary testing for inmates and staff.

DOH: Variants Are Dominant COVID-19 In Hawai‘i

From the Hawaiʻi Department of Health:

A report by the Hawai‘i Department of Health’s State Laboratories Division (SLD) shows COVID-19 (SARS-Cov-2) variants of concern account for a greater percentage of total COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i than ever and that percentage continues to increase. SLD also reports a growing presence of the P.1 variant which is highly infectious and may be more resistant to antibodies from vaccination or previous infection.

“Variants of concern now make up more than 90% of the genomes sequenced by our lab,” said SLD Director Dr. Edward Desmond. “We detected our first variants in January and in just four months they have replaced the original COVID-19 lineages as the COVID we find most often.”

SLD has detected 1,023 specimens of variants of concern since the first variant of concern was detected in Hawai‘i on January 21, 2021.

The B.1.429 variant, first found in California, was the dominant variant in March and early April. It has been detected 631 times.

The B.1.1.7 variant, first found in the United Kingdom, replaced the B.1.429 variant as the most dominant COVID strain in the state in late April. The B.1.1.7 variant now accounts for at least 61% of variants circulating in the islands. The B.1.1.7 has been detected 304 times.

“The B.1.1.7 and the B.1.429 variants are more transmissible than original COVID-19 lineages,” said Acting State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble. “These variants move more easily from person to person and therefore may spread more quickly through the community and be harder to contain.”

The P.1 variant, first detected in Brazil, has been found in 36 specimens in Hawaii, including 22 on Maui and 13 on O‘ahu.

“The best way to protect yourself from the variants and slow their spread is to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” said Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char. “We know the vaccines are effective against the current variants.”