17 New COVID Cases Confirmed on Kauaʻi

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, Dec. 3.

Today’s cases consist of one visitor and 16 residents. All 17 cases are adults. Three of the cases are related to mainland travel. The remaining 14 cases are considered community-acquired. Nine of the community-acquired infections are close contacts of a previously announced case or are tied to an active cluster. The remaining five cases have no known source of infection, including two whom investigators have been unable to reach after repeated attempts or who have refused to provide information.

“Omicron has now been detected on O‘ahu, and it’s only a matter of time before we detect it on Kaua‘i,” said Dr. Janet Berreman, Kaua‘i District Health Officer. “Fortunately, there are steps residents and visitors can take to protect themselves. Wearing masks indoors, avoiding large gatherings, staying home if you are sick and getting tested are precautions that protect us from all COVID variants and will help keep us safe and healthy through the holidays. Vaccines continue to be a strong layer of protection, especially in preventing severe disease and death. Vaccines and boosters are recommended, free, safe, and effective. If you haven’t already done so, please get yours today.”

Today’s cases bring the number of active cases to 125, with 13 hospitalized, and 3,242 cumulative cases. Kaua‘i’s cumulative case count includes 3,179 confirmed locally, eight probable, and 55 positive cases diagnosed elsewhere, as they received their pre-travel test results after arriving on island.