KILAUEA — Mayor Derek Kawakami and county personnel urged residents to make full use of their free COVID-19 home test kits, on day two of Kaua‘i County’s second home test distribution program.
That’s partly because the county is already planning to distribute a third round of tests sometime in the near future, Ross Kagawa of the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency told The Garden Island on Tuesday.
Kagawa spoke from outside the Kilauea Neighborhood Center, where he, Kawakami and two county parks department employees were scheduled to pass out test kits from 1 to 4 p.m.
“We’ll be back in about three weeks,” Kagawa told residents who slowly trickled by the neighborhood center. “Don’t be afraid to use them.”
Less than 10 community members had gathered at the Kilauea site when the event began.
It was a far cry from the lines of people seen during the county’s first round of distributions, which concluded in late January.
Kagawa called the difference in turnout “night and day,” noting he didn’t expect to run out of the 1,500 test kits brought to the event.
Most community members who stopped by to collect tests wore masks, and expressed continued concern regarding the coronavirus.
Several, including Lihu‘e resident Zoe Shinno, said they had volunteered at local COVID-19 vaccination clinics earlier in the pandemic.
‘Well, there you go — we know you should get tested,” Shinno said.
Shinno and her family members are fully vaccinated and have received booster shots. But testing is still top of mind.
“My partner is in a long-term-care facility, so I am careful with that,” she explained. “My mom is 93 and my aunty’s 96. So it’s just being careful around everyone.”
Kawakami, like Kagawa, sent individuals home with extra test kits to share with family members and kapuna.
In disease management, detection is second only to prevention, the mayor told The Garden Island.
“Of course, things look really good compared to three years ago. But detection is still a key, especially with restrictions now being dropped, more of a normal rhythm of life starting to happen,” Kawakami said.
“Having people be able to just take the test at their own discretion is going to be a key component with us being able to keep on moving forward.”
Hawai‘i lifted its statewide mask restrictions at 11:59 p.m. last Friday, alongside other emergency mandates related to COVID-19.
The Kaua‘i County Council, boards and commissions returned to in-person meetings three days later, on Monday.
“It’s all pivoting toward self-reliability,” Kawakami said. “If these people can get these tests into their homes and take it whenever they feel that maybe they’ve been exposed, or if they have a concern, or if they went traveling, the better it’s going to be.”
Remaining COVID-19 home test-kit distribution dates are as follows:
w Hanapepe Recreation Center, 9 a.m. to noon today; Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, 1 to 4 p.m. today;
w Anahola Clubhouse, 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, and Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Compex in Kapa‘a, 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday;
w Koloa Neighborhood Center, 9 a.m. to noon Friday, and Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center, 1 to 4 p.m. Friday.
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Scott Yunker, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
