Watch: Kawakami Announces County’s Return to Tier 4 in COVID Health Restrictions

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=232004821603564

No new COVID-19 cases were reported on Kaua‘i on Monday, May 24. During the county’s bi-weekly COVID-19 update, Mayor Derek SK Kawakami reported eight active cases and 13 individuals in health-directed quarantine.

After a spike in cases in late April and early May, Kaua‘i moved from Tier 4 to Tier 3. As of Monday, the county has returned to Tier 4, the least restrictive of community safety protocols for the pandemic.

Kawakami said the county is working with state partners in restructuring the tier system to create Tier 5, which would be based on vaccination rates.

Kaua‘i District Health Officer Janet Berreman supported the change in restrictions as the county has had a full two weeks of low daily cases, with an average of two new cases per day.

“We’re not likely going back to weeks with no new cases,” Berreman said. “But this spike showed us that Kaua‘i did a good job getting COVID-19 under control by dramatically increasing testing, with more than 400 people getting tested per day.”

The risks of COVID in the community are real, Berreman added.

“We will certainly see more cases. I’m optimistic we can manage it,” she said.

Vaccination rates continue to rise. The Department of Health reports 47% of Kaua‘i residents are fully vaccinated with 56% of residents having received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Berreman noted that 80% of individuals aged 65 and older have been inoculated.