LIHU‘E — The state Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported 23 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.
Saturday’s cases consist of three visitors and 20 residents. Of the 23 cases, six are children and 17 are adults. Nine of the cases are related to travel — eight mainland and one interisland. The remaining 14 cases are considered community-acquired. Nine of the community-acquired cases are close contacts of previously announced cases or tied to the active restaurant cluster. The remaining five community-acquired cases have 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.
Saturday’s cases bring the number of active cases to 103, with two hospitalized, and 699 cumulative cases.
Daily case counts continue to rise rapidly, despite DOH efforts to perform comprehensive case investigation and contact tracing.
Anyone who tests positive should immediately isolate at home and let those you’ve been in contact with know that they’ve been exposed, the DOH advised. Close contacts should quarantine and plan to be tested.
Many cases are in residents who have traveled. Anyone planning a trip is advised to be or get vaccinated before leaving. Whether vaccinated or not, follow Hawai‘i’s prudent rules and wear a mask in crowded indoor settings. Also, get tested three to five days after return to Kaua‘i.
Vaccination is free and widely available on the island, including on weekends and evenings and pop-up vaccination opportunities at community sites. For details on vaccination sites, visit kauai.gov/vaccine.
Free testing is available at the Lihu‘e Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.
Testing is also available through primary care physicians, hospitals and urgent-care clinics. For more details, visit kauai.gov/covidtest.
For county information, visit kauai.gov/COVID-19.
