New COVID-Related Fatality Reported on Kaua‘i

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health Kaua‘i District Health Office reported a fatality and 65 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, Dec. 29.

The fatality was a male resident in his 80s who was hospitalized. Total Kaua‘i COVID fatalities to date are 17.

“My warmest condolences go out to the family and friends of this resident,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami. “We must continue to remain safe by avoiding large gatherings, wearing masks, and getting vaccinated or boosted to prevent further spread of disease.”

Today’s cases bring the number of active cases to 385, with five hospitalized, and 3863 cumulative cases. Kaua‘i’s cumulative case count includes 3796 confirmed locally, eight probable, and 59 positive cases diagnosed elsewhere, as they received their pre-travel test results after arriving on island.

“Kaua‘i cases continue to rise extremely rapidly,” said Dr. Janet Berreman, Kaua‘i District Health Officer. “Please consider changing your New Year’s weekend plans to decrease risk of spreading disease: gather in small household groups only, gather outdoors, and ask anyone who is not feeling well to stay at home.”

Due to the increase in cases, the Kaua‘i District Health Office has shifted to a simplified daily case update consisting of total new case counts only. More detailed information on new cases will continue to be available on the Hawai‘i State Department of Health’s COVID-19 data dashboard. To view the dashboard, visit https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/current-situation-in-hawaii/.