(BIVN) – There were 720 newly reported cases of COVID-19 in the State of Hawaiʻi on Monday, down from the 1,678 cases identified on Sunday. There were 139 new cases identified today on Hawaiʻi island, down from the record 214-cases reported the day before.

According to the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, there were seventy-eight (78) persons hospitalized today on the Big Island.

Health officials are currently monitoring 1,897 active cases on Hawaiʻi island. The test positivity rate in Hawaiʻi County over the last 14 days is up to 9.4%, the highest county rate in the entire state. There has been a 14-day average of 143 new cases per day.

“There have been rumors circulating about a shut down in Hawaii,” tweeted Governor David Ige on Monday. “I want to clear the record that there are currently no plans to shut down. All posts on social media and being distributed by other means are not true. Official announcements will always come from official channels.”

On the Health Department’s zip code area map showing reported COVID-19 cases with onset dates in the past 14 days, there are now sixteen (16) zip code areas on the Big Island showing over 10 cases. Ten (10) of those zip code areas are showing over 50 cases, with two areas (Kona and Hilo) identifying over 400 new cases in 14 days. Zip code areas not listed below have recorded less than 10 cases in 14 days.

• 96720 (Hilo) – 523 cases
• 96740 (Kona) – 465 cases
• 96743 (Kohala) – 106 cases
• 96738 (S. Kohala) – 67 cases
• 96755 (N. Kohala) – 32 cases
• 96727 (Hāmākua) – 64 cases
• 96773* (N. Hilo) – 13 cases
• 96783 (Pepeʻekeo) – 23 cases
• 96749 (Puna) – 154 cases
• 96760 (Puna) – 28 cases
• 96771 (Puna mauka) – 59 cases
• 96778 (Puna makai) – 81 cases
• 96725 (Kona) – 46 cases
• 96750 (Kona) – 59 cases
• 96704* (South Kona) – 87 cases
• 96737 (Ocean View) – 14 cases

* The 96773 zip code area includes zip code areas 96710, 96774, 96728, 96764, and 96780. The 96704 zip code area includes zip code areas 96726.

“The State and Island of Hawaii are experiencing wide-spread community-based transmission of the Coronavirus and new rules have been added to help control the spread,” a Monday civil defense radio message stated. “The current number of high cases is also affecting critical activities of medical services. We need to slow the spread by limiting our activity in public to only essential needs. If you do go out, minimize your risk to potential exposure by wearing face coverings, maintaining physical distance of at least 6 feet from others, washing your hands with soap and water often, and reducing the size of or avoiding social gatherings. Please visit the Civil Defense website for more information on changes to gathering sizes and outdoor activities.”

County officials say the next community testing and vaccination will be Tuesday at the Kona Aquatics Center.

To date, the State of Hawaiʻi says 1,863,219 cumulative doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Health officials say 63.1% percent of the State population has been fully vaccinated. 71.4% of the population has initiated vaccination. On Hawaiʻi island, 60% has completed vaccination.