3 Children Part of Recent Household Cluster

Out of the seven COVID-19 cases reported overnight, three are children, Kaua‘i officials reported in a press conference Saturday.

According to the presser posted on the Kaua‘i County Facebook page, the new cases are part of a household cluster. The first case was identified on Thursday when a man sought medical care and was tested for the virus.

“We haven’t been able to identify the source of the infection,” said Kaua‘i District Health Officer Janet Berreman.

Members of the household have been transferred to an isolation facility..

“No one requires hospitalization,” Berreman said, adding the individuals were either asymptomatic or suffered from mild symptoms.

Other identified contacts of the original case are in quarantine, and contact tracing teams, led by DOH, are continuing their inquiry into both the origins and the extent of the new outbreak.

At this time, there is no indication that these cases are travel related.

The recent cases bring the island’s total case count to 29 cases after 10 weeks of no active cases on the island.

“We expected COVID-19 would return to our island, so this is not a surprise,” stated Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami. “However, the large number of contacts identified by the investigation is concerning, and it reinforces our need to take measures to protect ourselves and those around us.”

Berreman said she is confident health officials can handle the outbreak, as “we have been handling the cases so far.”