County Briefing: COVID Case Counts Decrease Slightly; Another Death Announced

Kaua‘i’s COVID-19 case count went down slightly during the past week, but with the good news also comes some sad news, with the announcement of another Kauai‘i COVID death.

Kaua‘i County Managing Director Mike Dahilig said in the county’s weekly video briefing Thursday, June 9, that the island’s seven-day average COVID case count is now 65 cases a day, down from 71 last week.

“That doesn’t include home tests, so the actual number is higher,” Dahilig said in the briefing. “The test positivity rate remains just above 25%, so 1 out of every 4 people who came in to get tested on Kauai last week tested positive.”

Statewide, the count went down slightly during the past week as well, from more than 1,200 a day to about 1,100 a day last week.

The county continues to see high case counts at long-term care facilities and has several workplace clusters.

“Please do not go to work while sick,” Dahilig said. “In order to prevent clusters in your workplace, we recommend implementing masking and distancing for your employees.”

Unfortunately, Dahilig also announced another COVID fatality. The patient was a female resident in her 90s who was not hospitalized.

“If you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID, please get tested immediately,” Dahilig said. “If you test negative, test again 3-5 days later even if you are not showing any symptoms.”

To watch the entire briefing, click here.