LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i is leading the state in new COVID-19 case counts per capita.
“Case counts on Kaua‘i have risen over the past two weeks, and we now have the highest rate of COVID in the state based on population,” Kaua‘i Deputy District Health Officer Lauren Guest said Monday. “Over the past week, our average daily case count was 17 cases per day.”
Monday, the Kaua‘i District Health Office reported 15 new cases, all residents, including five are children and 10 are adults. One of the cases is related to mainland travel. The remaining 14 cases are considered community-acquired. Eleven of the community-acquired infections are close contacts of a previously announced case or are tied to an active cluster. The remaining three cases have no known source of infection as investigators have been unable to reach them after repeated attempts or they have refused to provide information.
As of Monday, the county has 129 active COVID-19 cases, with 11 hospitalized. According to the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency, one of these patients is in the intensive care unit.
“It is critically important now for all of us to wear masks indoors, maintain physical distance, and avoid crowds,” Kaua‘i Emergency Management Administrator Elton Ushio said. “If you feel sick, please do not go to work or school.”
The county currently has several active clusters, including one tied to King’s Chapel Nawiliwili, which has been the source of 36 cases. The Department of Health is urging those who attended events or functions on or after Oct. 31 to get tested. Exposures have been linked to church services, youth groups and a truck-or-treat event.
The cluster at King’s Chapel increased from 16 cases when first detected a week ago, including four secondary cases in household contacts. More cases are expected to be identified as the investigation and testing continue.
“We will work with anyone who tests positive to minimize their risk of exposing others, and we will assist with accessing care, including monoclonal antibody treatment to decrease severity of illness,” Kauai‘ District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman said. “Early treatment with monoclonal antibody is particularly effective and important for those who are not vaccinated.”
Officials are also monitoring clusters at four other occupational settings and one social gathering, Guest said.
This week, the KDHO is starting neighborhood clinics for children aged 5 to 11. Walk-ins will be accepted starting this Wednesday at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center from 4 to 6 p.m. and the Hanapepe Neighborhood Center on Friday from the same time.
The KDHO clinic will then move to the Hanalei Neighborhood Center from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday and the Kilauea Neighborhood Center from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Other pediatric vaccination clinics include the Wilcox Medical Center, which is open on Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m., with appointments available at wilcoxhealth.org/vaccine.
Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital will host a walk-in clinic this Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m. And Ho‘ola Lahui will be at the Kekaha Neighborhood Center and at Isenberg park from 9 to 11 a.m., at both locations.
Keiki appointments can also be made at the Kaiser Permanente Lihu‘e Clinic on weekdays during business hours by visiting KP.org, or at the Longs Lihu‘e location in Kukui Grove seven days a week at cvs.com/vaccine.
A list of vaccination sites can be found at kauai.gov/vaccine.
Free testing is available at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu‘e, weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If there is a wait, you will receive a ticket with a time to return for your test. Arrive anytime the clinic is open to receive a timed ticket; no need to arrive early.
Testing performed at the Convention Hall and through the mobile testing van is rapid PCR. Same-day results are sent via email.
A full list of free testing locations and hours can be found at kauai.gov/COVIDtest.
the continuing spike in cases should be alarming to kauai’s health practitioners who should put pressure on county officials to restrict some activities and policies until things are manageable.
headlines call attention to cases and clusters however kauai businesses and schools and travelers continue to operate and come and act as if kauai is over the hump. we were vigilant when cases exceeded 10 cases for the entire island…that’s less the number of cases we average daily. we either clean up our act community wise or face restrictions…travelers return untested and spread the disease unknowingly until they become ill…most do not want to report their illness for fear of being lambasted or quarantined. visitors will never be tested for fear of spending their $5k trip inside a hotel room with meals being brought to them.
what will it take for on everyones part? overflowing cases under tents outside in the rain?
hotels infested and needing to close?
the lack of first responders due to illness?
the closing of the airport due to lack of enough people able to work?
or children so sick that their parents picket the schools
the anti vaxers are part of the problem. But if kauai’s numbers of those diseased can be categorized daily as those either 1. not gotten vaxed. 2. received their shots. 3. received boosters then maybe some people will stop believing social media diatribe or messages from newspeople that rant vs. the vaccine yet are vaccinated themselves. Politics and religious leanings should never threaten the lives of the innocent. Transparency just might open some peoples eyes and see what is happening here on kauai.
Hey, no. You’re entitled to your opinion. But you do not have facts or authoritative sources to back up your emotional response to the increased numbers. Given the information we all know. Vax doesn’t stop spread or catching it 100% but, it can help with symptoms. Also efficacy wanes. So the all mighty vaxxed can be caught off guard if they are past due for a boost.
700,000 unvaccinated Americans have had a fatal experience with the virus. Yeah, if you’re vaxed you can get a breakthrough case, but you’ll more than likely survive it with minimal symptoms. A stay in the hospital to recover from a Covid infection will cost you an arm and a leg. The vaccine is free. Do that math, “Hey.”
In the state of Hawaii we have had a total of 85,948 cases of COVID with 977 deaths. For those of you who have been terrified the death rate comes to 1.14%. If you constantly listen to the stuff from the news you would think that was at least 10 percent. Remind yourself that it is only 1.14% that die from COVID-19 in Hawaii. These overbearing regulations and rules need over this “pandemic” need to be done away with. Rather than worrying about a church let’s focus on FACTS! 1.14% is a very small number. That’s not a big difference. In 2017 ALONE there were 2575 deaths from heart disease and 2456 deaths from cancer here in Hawaii compared to ALMOST 2 YEARS of this “pandemic” with 977 COVID deaths.
…on a remote island chain that shut down for a long time and yet had this pandemic hit.
Since we don’t really know how many people have had covid-19 here , The real math is deaths to total population which puts the death rate at 0.000697
You don’t count people who were careful enough to not get the virus in the total against how many deaths the virus caused.
That’s because the mayor tried to put Kauai in a protective bubble, hoping the pandemic would go away in the meantime. He did not make good use of the time to get the population vaccinated and pandemic-safe. So now, our fellow islanders are vulnerable and primed for infection by this disease. We can all look forward to an explosion as the Delta variant sweeps the island like Iniki did.
Correcto-mundo! Great to see logic still being applied. Good comment palala
The mayor did everything he legally could to get people vaccinated me and all my close friends were vaxed early on… itʻs the antivax crowd that is promoting covid now
Per capita, for each person. 17 cases per week, for each person. What do you intend to do about this? I hope they are considering closing down some activities. Like football or volleyball on the island. I know they are starting up again. Just shut it down. This would be a small lockdown. But only in the area of those activities. And maybe some few restaurants around the island. That would help somewhat.
Locking down is what has us where we find ourselves today. You can’t hide from this . Stop thinking like you can manically make this disappear
Locking down worked pretty well. Opening up is when we had surges. I’m not saying we should have opened up, but people were not careful enough when the island opened up again.
Mathematics is awesome. Fact-based, unemotional, and only one right answer!