42 New COVID Cases Confirmed on Kauaʻi

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office announced 42 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, Dec. 27.

“With the combined effects of Omicron, holiday gatherings, and traveling, we expect to see continued rapid rise in cases on Kaua‘i this week,” said Dr. Janet Berreman, Kaua‘i District Health Officer. “As residents and visitors plan their new year’s celebrations, please plan to wear masks indoors, gather in small groups, gather outside, and don’t socialize if you are feeling sick. If you test positive for COVID, please don’t wait to hear from DOH. As soon as you get your test result, isolate yourself at home and notify your close contacts. With current case counts, DOH case investigators may not be able to call you as promptly as usual.”

Today’s cases consist of 13 visitors and 29 residents. Of the 42 new cases, five are children and 37 are adults. Twenty-three of the cases are related to travel – 14 mainland and nine interisland. The remaining 19 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 eight cases have no known source of infection, including four whom investigators have been unable to reach after repeated attempts or who have refused to provide information.

Today’s cases bring the number of active cases to 248, with four hospitalized, and 3,678 cumulative cases. Kaua‘i’s cumulative case count includes 3,611 confirmed locally, eight probable, and 59 positive cases diagnosed elsewhere, as they received their pre-travel test results after arriving on island.