LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County could transition back into Tier 4 by early next week, Mayor Derek Kawakami announced Thursday.
“Earlier this month, our island experienced a surge in cases that we hadn’t seen before,” Kawakami said in his COVID-19 briefing. “It affected our residents and many of our children. Thankfully, our community worked together to take quick action to gain control of the outbreak.”
The earliest this could happen is Monday, a county spokesperson said, and the county would not need Gov. David Ige’s approval.
The county initially transitioned into Tier 3 on May 6, and reported 20 new cases in that two-week time span as of Thursday.
“If we can keep this momentum, we’ll be on track to move back to Tier 4 by early next week,” Kawakami said.
A timeline is forthcoming, but according to the emergency rule that established the tiers, to move from Tier 3 to Tier 4, for one of two weeks, the county must maintain a less-than-two-case, seven-day average case count and a test positivity rate of less than 1% for the same time.
The current seven-day average case count is 1.4. The county doesn’t generate its own test-positively percentage, but according to the state the county has a seven-day average of 0.6% as of May 20.
Thursday, the state Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported two new infections of COVID-19, both visitors whose infections are related to mainland travel. One case is an adult and the other is a child.
During the final days of April and early days of May, the county saw a spike in community spread and identified restaurant and workplace clusters.
Tier 3 is characterized by its restrictions on social gatherings and groupings both in indoor and outdoor settings.
When Kawakami asked to move down to Tier 3 earlier this month, the county requested to remove restrictions on sporting events and further restrict social gatherings.
This month, the county has seen 59 total new cases, 46 of which were considered community-acquired and 13 related to travel.
“As all of you know, we took strong action early in the pandemic, and our residents made great sacrifice to keep our island safe,” Kawakami said. “As a result, we were able to create a robust vaccine program, and we continue to lead the state in vaccinations.”
Over 1.4 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state as of May 19, according to the DOH.
As of Thursday, nearly 56% of county residents have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a higher percentage than the rest of the state. Both Maui and Hawai‘i Islands have about 52% initiated and O‘ahu 50%, according to the state.
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Sabrina Bodon, public safety and government reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.
Wearing of face mask and always being aware of your surroundings have become bothersome for many. Interisland travel is picking up. And I doubt anybody will be paying attention to a thing as 6 ft. rule and face mask. CDC has spoken. Don’t need any if you been vaccinated. Still what are the chances of anyone dying and catching it first? I don’t want to find out. Really. I think the death toll I counted was at 46% for those catching it. And it was several months ago, last year. The numbers have gone up. So I wouldn’t know exactly what the death toll rate is. Don’t care to find out.
I’m sorry… but did you just claim that the mortality rate of Covid is 46%? I want to be sure you meant that number before I say anything…
I really hope you haven’t been going about your life for the last year or so thinking your chances at surviving covid are a coin toss.
As of today, Hawaii has seen 34,474 confirmed cases and 489 deaths, which puts the state death rate at about 1.4%, way lower than the 46% you are suggesting…
The actual death rate is almost certainly lower, as asymptomatic and mild cases are likely to go unrecorded, while deaths are not.
If you are not elderly or obese, your chances of dying are even lower still, but if you are then they will be higher
The death toll is 0.27% if infected. Slightly higher if you’re old and obese. Get better info
So can we take the mask off now? Really want to know. Kind of important. Also, 6 foot separation, with all the tourists returning going to run out of island if we have to have 6 foot between us wherever we go?
The original Quarantine period was 2 weeks, because science knows when the average person’s Immune Systems undergo the Immune Response in those 2 weeks.
In those 2 weeks, the Immune System’s Plasma cells (there are millions of Plasma cells) each produce 10,000 Antibodies per second. In those 2 weeks just 1 million plasma cells produce 12 Quadrillion antibodies that specifically eliminate Covid viruses from your body if you are positive with Covid.
After 2 weeks of your Antibodies naturally eliminating all the Covid virus, you still have enormous quadrillions of antibodies circulating all over your body to protect you from re-infection by the Covid virus. This natural protection can last a lifetime, and is what science calls your Immunity, which you also have from prior infections from other virus.
And because after 2 weeks of the Immune Response you will have eliminated all the Covid Virus from your body, you will have no Covid virus to spread to others. You are thus Non-Contagious for the Covid virus and cannot spread the virus to others.
After completing the 2 weeks of Immune Response you are both Immune to the Covid virus and Non-Contagious, which automatically makes you Herd Immune.
We need, like all the other different Flu Seasons before, a majority of the people to be Positive with Covid virus, become Herd Immune and cause the Covid virus to not be able to survive and thus fade away.
We want as many people as possible to be positive. Being positive with none or mild symptoms is good for you and everyone else.
For every person who tests positive there are maybe even hundreds more who are positive and have no symptoms. We need those positive people with no symptoms or only mild symptoms.
If you want to have no symptoms or only mild symptoms when you get Positive with Covid virus, do not eat junk, fast, sugar, and chemical added food. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Be sure to have the right amount of Sun, Water, Air, Rest, and Exercise.
Ryan: I think you got a lot of your medical facts wrong! You will spread the disease when you catch Covid. The spreading will start before you even know you have it and continue for 10-14 days even if you yourself are asymptomatic. You will not be ” Herd Immune” as a result!..Herd Immunity refers to a community of people where 70% are vaccinated. The immunity people get from having Covid is not as good as the vaccine which is why most people who catch Covid get the vaccine about 2 months later.
Aloha Bob, following the science is about intricate details…
Apologies for fast hasty response gotta go to church.
Reread my comment it says after 2 weeks the Immune Response provides immunity and non contagion. Until the 2 weeks, approx., we know people are still contagious. That is known fact in immunology.
After each person becomes qualified as an individual member of being Herd Immune, that is being immune and non contagious., and when 70% of the community individually become a part of herd immunity then the community at large has herd immunity, which all prior years of flu seasons have undergone Herd Immunity to render the past viruses unable to survive.
Herd Immunity is made up of individual members of a community. 70% must qualify and be Herd Immune. Let’s not be picky picky, you call it 70% of the whole herd, I say it is when 70% are individually Herd Immune then the community may be able to say Aloha to Covid, but that may never happen with these unscientific restrictions on passing the virus around to people who will have no symptoms or only mild symptoms.
You can’t reach herd immunity by restricting contact, 6′ in a brisk trade wind, is silly, definitely unscientific.
Masks that leak air in and out with virus included, not scientific.
Wash your hands all day? Soap does not kill virus, soap may wash virus down the drain, but then you need shower the whole body 24 times a day.
Hysteria and silly science are opposite sides of same coin.
The only benefit from vaccines so far is that Pfizer made $25 Billion off Covid Vaccines. And their CEO made $25 million in one day selling his bloated stocks.
J&J, What $19 Billion income for vials of water and chemicals…now you know why it as a rush to permit the vaccines, before herd immunity was achieved naturally. Vaccines? How many dead and injured.
Testing at $150 time how many millions negative and the rest positive and not sick…$$$ that is what vaccines are for.
It is impossible for a vaccine to match and eliminate virus, only a healthy immune system can do that and has been doing it successfully for 550 million years with the older vertebrates. Why doctors and pharmacies gotta make all that money. The people who die from coif already paid in 30-40 year of their medical benefits to the medical drug dealers.
Dead from Covid, they were all immune compromised by obesity, diabetes, heart, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, liver, kidney, lung failure, Alzheimers, but what is notable is that all those people were under medical care for as many as 30 to 40 years of prescription drugs which TV ads say how dangerous they are.
Yes after 2 weeks of Covid infection people become immune and non contagious and until then they can spread the virus, people need follow the instructions.
But people who burden their immune system with vaccines and low and non nutrient foods and their toxic chemicals some carcinogenic, are the ones with not good outcomes with Covid Infection.
Until people realize that all the chemicals they get in life are Anti-Health, they will suffer disease and more with chemical disease treatment.
Seek Health, forget fighting disease. The toxic chemicals in your food are made from same source as the toxic chemicals in the medications and prescription drugs. Respect Nature, it’s what keeps you alive.
All doctors know chemotherapy (chemical therapy) kills many patients. Bad chemicals unfit for life.
Live natural, stay away from all drugs, alcohol, tobacco, anything you smoke, and pharmacy drugs.
Get well, stop feeding your disease with drugs and junk food.
How many prescription drugs have you taken today?
Weird, the science is if you are vaccinated no need for masking ect. I thought we believed in science not politics. We are no longer in an “emergency” so these clowns can go talk to a wall cause I believe in science.
I think the problem is: There’s no way to be certain that people who aren’t vaccinated are wearing masks.
In addition with so many tourists/travelers there is a greater risk of someone introducing more infections/variants.
What science says, and what we can be certain of with real people are two different things.
If you’d support everyone getting vaccinated, perhaps that is an option. We know that’s not the case, and not close enough to overcome the statistical probabilities of continued spreading. So for now people still need to take precautions.
Science? Can we say that a monkey disease is acceptable? Because they live on the same planet. Yes. How do we get rid of it? It’s killing people. This science is really mind bogging. We cannot just ingest more nutrients. It won’t work. Now what? Just kill it. The body too? If you kill it, you kill the body and the person. Wow. Stuck!
So we’re back at Tier 4. I guess that is good news. So when will these restrictions finally be relaxed???? Its been over a year and the light at the end of the tunnel still looks very dim, even though a lot of out high risk population have received the vaccine. SO when Mr. Mayor?? Don’t get me wrong, he did a good job in the beginning of the pandemic, but this cannot be the “new normal”. What happened to “following the science”? Let me say that another way, “Follow the science when it suits you”, I think this statement better fits what is happening here. So when will we get some normalcy back in our lives Mr. Mayor? If your goal is to completely eradicate this disease then I guess we will be living like this forever and ever.
Agendas agendas agendas!!! Flip flop politicians and doctors, hypocrisy to the 10th degree. Wear a mask or get attacked like a criminal. Get a jab that is not a vaccine but a gene therapy experiment. All the sheeple doing what their told so they feel like the cool kids in school. All in the it crowd! What a circus world. What happened to my body my choice, freedom and the constitution???? It’s all talk and more control. Wake up people
These restrictions are becoming intolerable, it has been over a year, some states have removed masks all together, this isn’t an emergency anymore, the survival rate is above 99%, lives and businesses have been destroyed because of these lock downs, how much do we need to sacrifice? At this point it has become an obsession of the political figures and they need to let us live, they have gone far above and beyond their range of power, it has become a dictatorship, I want my America back
If the current prevention of contagion continues, that is dragged out, which will perpetuate the few daily positive tests from people that have zero to mild symptoms, who take the Covid test for needs like travel and employment, then we’ll never end this chase for the boogeyman virus, which virus is dangerous, for the most part, only to those with a variety of early onset of chronic long term degenerative end of life diseases, being treated with toxic and lethal multiple prescription drugs.
These End of Life Diseases are obesity, diabetes, heart, stroke, and high blood pressure; as well as liver, lung, and kidney failures, and cancer and Alzheimers; all treated with toxic and lethal prescription drugs for 30 and 40 years, which results in elderly people in their 70’s.
These deaths are predictable and those people under suspicion of dying, and are even visibly ill (obese) on the street due to their doctor tolerated physical condition. These high risk people should be pre protected before becoming ill, instead of following Disease Care methods which dictates waiting for disease to make people ill, even deadly ill, before sending out the ambulances, instead of early prevention, and avoiding the common known causes of disease.
If this ineffective means of promoting Immunity and Non-Contagion continue, our island population will endlessly continue to trickle in with positive tests ongoing into next winter when the virus virus returns and will thrive in the next winter cold, when the virus naturally returns from the migration to the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, we will have more waves of contagion.
It would be wise to let Nature take its course, but also keep these pseudo scientists quarantined (without harm to the public) in their labs, and keep their dangerous inventions from leaking out.
Our Immune Systems can handle and have proven to be able to handle Covid with so many people so far who were infected by the Covid Disease without symptoms or hospitalization. We hear day after day in Hawaii of new people positive with Covid, but do not require medication or Hospitalization.
The medical and pharmceutical industry records know who those people are who have multiple diseases and taking multiple toxic and lethal drugs. Why are they turning a blind eye to these people letting them become victims of Covid, and ignoring prevention.
The Covid virus is a wake up call as to the ineffective Disease Care method, strangling our nation in medications and prescription drugs and surgery, whose every medical test is for the purpose to sell drugs and surgery.
Pfizer’s vaccine has brought in $25 Billion dollars of income so far, and have profited their CEO $25,000,000.00, $25 Million dollars in one day selling his stock bonuses. Johnson and Johnson only brought in $19 Billion. Is there a Covid vaccine financial motivation, and vaccinated people are not Only dying but also getting Covid virus after vaccination.
We need to turn to a Health Care System that provides prevention of disease and causes people to become and be restored to being well and healthy, without drugs and surgery.
Staying Well and Healthy, or getting back to being Well and Healthy requires effort by each person, not looking at their food as Entertainment for their taste buds and sugar High.
So Sebrina writes an article based solely on a Tier 3 and 4 change and doesn’t outline the difference, or even a definition of the two Tiers? God help us if even our reporters and journalists are incompetent in communication and putting information in writing!
I think the difference in Tier 3 and tier 4 is in the amount of people that can be together in one place at a moment in time. When I was growing up Les Murakami was just beginning his coaching career in 1975. They played at McCulley field too. Anyway, the baseball program is letting guest in in Honolulu. I used to live in Honolulu and had an apartment in McCulley right by the field. This was way back in 1979. This is coronavirus territory if you are without face mask. Governor Ige has made it known that everyone is still required to wear one. But business around town are beginning to open up at half dining. 50%.
Back in 1975, they used to hold all the concerts at Neal Blaisedell center. Hall and Oats, after all these years came in 1978. I went to this concert. Anyway, they are still monitoring everyone going into the stadium at Les Murakami stadium. So the fans are like 75 in total at the college baseball game and not making happen. Losing money to run the show at a baseball game. What now? The games for college will be this way for the whole year.
In 1979 when I came to Honolulu, the restaurant on Beratania was already in operation. Korean BBQ restaurant. Dine in. They are requiring now that customers who choose to sit, show some proof of vaccination. If you have one. Really. It goes deep. But businesses are taking precautions every where.