LIHU‘E —The Hawai‘i State Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported a COVID-19 related fatality and 51 new infections on Thursday.
The fatality was a female resident in her 90s who was hospitalized, according to officials. This marks the 16th COVID-19 related death on Kaua‘i.
“My heart goes out to the family and friends of this person,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said Thursday. “We need to do our part this holiday season to prevent the spread of disease and unnecessary tragedies by avoiding large gatherings, wearing masks indoors in public, and getting vaccinated or boosted if you haven’t done so already.”
As with the state, the county is beginning to see a spike in case counts, presumably attributed to the spread of the omicron variant, which early studies are showing is more transmissible than the delta variant.
“COVID case counts are rising rapidly and are expected to continue to increase. We can assume that the omicron variant is in our community,” Kaua‘i District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman said.
Thursday’s new cases consist of five visitors and 46 residents.
Of the 51 new cases, 10 are children and 41 are adults.
Twenty-nine of the cases are related to travel – 16 mainland and 13 interisland. The remaining 21 cases are considered community-acquired. Sixteen of the community-acquired infections are close contacts of a previously announced case or are tied to an active cluster. The remaining five cases have no known source of infection. One of today’s cases did not receive their positive test result until after their arrival on Kaua‘i.
“If you develop symptoms or test positive, isolate in your home immediately, stay away from household members, and do not go out unless you are testing or seeking healthcare,” Berreman said.
In observance of the Christmas Day holiday, the Kaua‘i War Memorial Conventional Hall testing center will be closed on Dec. 24. Mobile testing will be closed on Dec. 24 at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center and Dec. 25. at the Hanalei Neighborhood Center.
The county currently has a recorded 157 active cases, with three hospitalized.
