LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i State Department of Health identified 10 new cases Wednesday, as well as a new cluster in an education setting, Dr. Janet Berreman, Kaua‘i District Health Officer said.
“This is a good reminder that school is right around the corner for many of our keiki,” Berreman said in a release. “For students 12 and older, being vaccinated before school begins will make it safer for everyone. Vaccinated students are much less likely to get sick, and if they are identified as close contacts of a case they don’t need to quarantine and miss school.”
Currently, a Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 is the only one available to those 12 and older.
“Help your student have a safe and healthy start to the new school year — get them vaccinated now,” Berreman said. “Students of all ages should stay home if they are sick. For keiki younger than 12, having all eligible household members vaccinated provides good protection.”
Educational settings, Berreman said, are not limited to schools.
“They include settings in which youth engage in extra-curricular activities,” she said.
Wednesday’s 10 reported cases consist of nine residents and one visitor.
Eight of the cases are adults and two are children. The source of infection for five of the cases is mainland travel-related. The remaining five cases are considered community-acquired. Three of the community-acquired infections are close contacts of previously announced cases. The other two have no known source of infection.
These cases bring the number of active cases to 54, with four hospitalized, and 538 cumulative cases on Kaua‘i. The island’s cumulative case count includes 494 confirmed locally, three probable, and 41 positive cases diagnosed elsewhere, as they received their pre-travel test results after arriving on island.
The state’s DOH reported 163 new cases state-wide, and about 1,322 cases of which are active across the islands on Wednesday.
