Weekly County Briefing: COVID Case Numbers Remain Elevated

Kaua‘i’s COVID case count remains elevated, but it has slightly decreased in the past week, according to Mayor Derek Kawakami in the county’s latest weekly video briefing on Facebook.

The seven-day average is at 59 cases a day compared to 63 cases a day a week ago, Kawakami said in the briefing. That number, however, does not include home test results, so the actual number of cases is likely higher.

The test positivity rate for the island is up slightly this week, at 24.3%, meaning 1 out of every 4 people who came in to get tested last week tested positive.

“That’s higher than the statewide rate, now at 18%,” the mayor said, adding that Kaua‘i’s per population case rate is also higher than the rest of the state’s, and cases continue to rise throughout Hawai’i, with an average of 1,098 daily cases.

“The (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is still rating Kaua‘i County in the ‘high’ range for COVID transmission,” Kawakami said.

There are, however, no new mandates planned.

“Instead, we can all take precautions to protect ourselves and help slow the spread of COVID while our community is at high risk,” the mayor said.

That includes taking actions such as wearing well-fitting masks inside, getting up to date on vaccination and boosters and avoiding large crowds. When gathering, do it outside.

“And this last one is important,” Kawakami said. “If you feel sick, please stay home and take a test. Even if you test negative, stay home while you have symptoms and take another test in a day or two.”

The Kaua‘i District Health Office is investigating several active COVID clusters on the island, most of which are workplace clusters resulting from close contact among staff who are not wearing masks, not social distancing or still going to work while they are ill.

To watch the full county briefing video, click here.