LIHU‘E — The state Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office announced 27 new cases on Sunday.
Sunday’s cases are one visitor and 26 residents.
Of the 27 new cases, nine are children and 18 are adults. One case is related to mainland travel. The remaining 26 cases are considered community-acquired.
Nineteen of the community-acquired infections are close contacts of previously announced cases or are tied to an active cluster. The remaining seven community-acquired cases have no known source of infection, including five whom investigators have been unable to reach after repeated attempts or who have refused to provide information.
Active cases are directed to isolate, and close contacts are being identified, offered testing and directed to quarantine. Investigations are ongoing.
“The Department of Health is announcing two Kaua‘i COVID deaths today,” said Dr. Janet Berreman, Kaua‘i District Health Office. “These are deaths that the Kaua‘i District Health Office announced previously. Total Kaua’i deaths to date are stable at nine.”
“If we are going to stem this surge of disease, we must act now,” said Berreman. “We must avoid travel unless necessary, avoid gathering in large groups, wear our masks, stay home if we’re sick, and get tested and get vaccinated.”
Sunday’s cases bring the number of active cases to 265, with four hospitalized, and 1,869 cumulative cases.
Following are links to home-isolation/quarantine guidelines from DOH:
w hawaiicovid19.com/testing-isolation-quarantine/;
w hawaiicovid19.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Summary-Guidance-for-COVID-19-Cases-and-Contacts.pdf;
w health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/files/2020/04/What-To-Do-If-You-Have-Been-Tested-For-COVID19_040120.pdf.
Vaccination remains the most important action to take to slow and prevent the spread of disease, the county said in a press release.
Vaccinations are widely available to anyone 12 years of age or older and are free, safe and effective. For details on the vaccination sites, visit kauai.gov/vaccine.
Free testing is widely available at various locations on the island most days of the week. For more details, visit kauai.gov/covidtest.
For more information on the county’s COVID-19 response, visit kauai.gov/COVID-19.
