LIHU‘E — The state Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The cases are both visitors whose source of infection is related to mainland travel.
Tuesday’s cases were identified via the enhanced-movement quarantine or “resort bubble” post-travel test program. Contacts are being identified, directed to quarantine and offered testing.
“A single pre-travel test cannot prevent all travel-related cases,” said Mayor Derek Kawakami.
“The County of Kaua‘i is following CDC-recommended guidance and is working closely with travel-industry partners to strongly encourage travelers to be tested 72 hours after their arrival.”
As the county re-joined the Safe Travel program Monday, a Tuesday press release from the county pointed out that some travel-related cases are likely to go undetected.
Following safe practices such as mask-wearing, social-distancing, washing hands, avoiding large gatherings and staying home when you are sick, are critical to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Vaccinations provide a substantial added layer of protection.
“The best way to protect the Kaua‘i community and maintain the safety we have experienced in recent months is for all residents 16 and older to be vaccinated as soon as possible,” said DOH Kaua‘i District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman.
“Those who work with travelers can avoid missed workdays by being vaccinated. Close contacts who have been fully vaccinated are not subject to DOH quarantine. They can continue working as usual. All residents who come in contact with travelers should be vaccinated as soon as possible,” she said.
Vaccination appointments are widely available. For details, visit kauai.gov/vaccine. Those who plan to travel can protect themselves and their families by being fully vaccinated before traveling.
Tuesday’s reported cases brings the number of active cases to nine, with 233 cumulative cases. Kaua‘i’s cumulative case count includes 198 confirmed locally, two probable, and 33 positive cases diagnosed elsewhere, as they received their pre-travel test results after arriving on island.
The DOH reported Tuesday that Kaua‘i County is averaging one new case a day and is maintaining a test positivity of 0.7% of those tested for COVID-19. That compares to an average of 11 new cases daily in Hawai‘i County, 57 in the City &County of Honolulu, 27 in Maui County and 95 statewide.
Well here we go! These folks were caught by the extra testing that we’re now doing away with. Makes no sense to remove this requirement. It will definitely spread Covid on Kauai. Get vaccinated and don’t believe the woot woot misinformation.
Stop calling the single COVID test system “Safe Travels”. We need to be honest and call it is “Unsafe Travels”.
Kawakami just opened the floodgates for thousands of tourist-zombies into Kauai (see all the shiny Jeeps driving around lately?) so there’s bound to be a surge of Covid infections.
The good news is that most of Kauai is now vaccinated, but the bad news is that the remaining few Covidiots (from the Mainland and from here) who have not gotten vaccinated yet are going to cause this new spike in cases.
Mahalo Mayor Kawakami for keeping us safe as long as you could. This is proof that your 2nd test worked. Everyone try and stay healthy with the influx of the variants! Five states have 44% of the cases in the US right now, New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, can’t wait for those visitors to get here!
Our Mayor is doing a balancing act. I don’t want to pile on but as much as he wanted to help our pandemically unemployed by opening us on April 5th, it was too soon.
A C-19 test within 72 hours of flying and the hopes a discount card would entice them to volunteer for a 2nd test, has left us open to visitors bringing in the virus before we have finished vaccinating.
According to the CDC, out of 4,000 important frontline staff workers at hospitals and sites, 90% of them were protected from catching the coronavirus. But, they still recommend social distancing and face mask worn.
This should give us some idea of where this thing is going. Pandemic. Not yet safe!
Jeez. You people clearly are so lucky to not have to work, or financial security has not been affected by the shut down. So please continue to stay home scared of everything. We could less whiners like you out in the real world anyways. You guys probably wear masks in your car while driving alone.
Amen
We had plenty of travelers that followed the rules and visited. The traffic that had started before proved that. Now we are supposed to avoid large gatherings, social distance etc still, so tourists can have more freedom and end up bringing the disease to us more? Gee, for some reason that just doesn’t make sense to me.
Safe Travels or not… Do like I am doing: (1) get a COVID-19 vaccination, (2) practice social distancing, (3) practice good hygiene, and (4) wear a mask. It ain’t over, until its OVER…