Hawaii News Now

Hawaii health officials reported the presence of the latest COVID variant in the islands Monday. The DOH said routine genome sequencing surveillance conducted by the State Laboratories Division discovered the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617.2 — also known as the Delta variant — in an Oahu individual.

Hawaii on Monday reported 56 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the total number since the start of the pandemic to 37,067.

Meanwhile, there were no additional fatalities. The death toll from the virus remains at 506.

Of the new cases, 21 were on Oahu, 14 on Maui, seven on Kauai, four on Hawaii Island, and 10 out of state.

Over the last 14 days, DOH says there have been 711 new cases throughout the state.

New rules go into effect on Tuesday for those traveling inter-island.

Oahu is now in Tier 4 of a revamped reopening plan, with the fewest restrictions in place in over a year and a pathway to no restrictions once a 70% vaccination target is hit.

The state says graduation parties and places of worship were tied to clusters last month.

A new solar farm hopes to expand access to those who couldn’t do it before. So residents living in condos, apartments, and townhomes could be in luck.

More Hawaii residents are choosing to get vaccinated. The state more than tripled the number of new vaccinations over a 24-hour period.

A state grand jury has declined to indict three Honolulu police officers who fired at a stolen car being driven by 16-year old Iremamber Sykap in April.

Call it the break of a lifetime. A young man from Hawaii is gearing up for his big screen debut, and it's far from a small-time production — he'll be sharing scenes with two of the most famous actors in the world. Micah Giovanni moved from Maui to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, but it was his connection to the islands that would land him the audition for a part alongside John Travolta and Bruce Willis.

The state Health Department reported 46 new COVID cases Wednesday and no additional fatalities.

The new cases bring the total number of infections in Hawaii since the pandemic began to 36,731.

Of the new cases, 17 were on Oahu, 17 on Maui, and five on Hawaii Island. There were also seven residents diagnosed out-of-state.

The death toll from the virus in Hawaii stands at 505.