LIHU‘E — The Hawai‘i State Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported one COVID-19-related fatality and 26 new infections on Friday.
The fatality was male Kaua‘i resident in his 70s who was hospitalized on O‘ahu.
“We are saddened to report the third death of a Kaua‘i resident as a result of COVID-19,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said in a press release. “We extend our sincere warmth, prayers, and aloha to the family and loved ones of the individual for this painful loss to our community.”
Friday’s cases consist of three visitors and 23 residents. Of the 26 cases, six are children and 20 are adults.
Ten of the cases are related to travel, eight linked to the mainland and two to interisland travel.
The remaining sixteen cases are considered community-acquired. Fifteen of them are close contacts of previously announced cases or tied to a new restaurant cluster identified by the DOH yesterday. The last community-acquired infection has no known source of infection.
All active cases are in isolation, and close contacts are being identified, offered testing, and directed to quarantine. Investigations are ongoing by the department.
“If you test positive, please don’t wait to hear from the Department of Health before taking action: isolate yourself at home, and let those you’ve been in contact with know that they’ve been exposed,” Kaua‘i District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman said. “Your close contacts should quarantine and plan to be tested. Your prompt action makes a difference.”
The county last announced a COVID-19-related fatality in April of an elderly woman. The county’s first on-island COVID-19 fatality occurred in November 2020 in an elderly male with no travel history. An off-island Kaua‘i resident died in Arizona last year.
Friday’s cases bring the number of active cases to 87, with two hospitalized, and 676 cumulative cases. Kaua‘i’s cumulative case count includes 625 confirmed locally, six probable, and 45 positive cases diagnosed elsewhere, as they received their pre-travel test results after arriving on island.
Free testing is available on Saturday at the Hanalei Neighborhood Center from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis, and on Sunday, from the same times, at the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center.
