54 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 2 new clusters – The Garden Island

LIHUE Thursday, the state Department of Health Kauai District Health Office announced 54 new COVID-19 cases, representing one visitor and 53 residents.

Of the 54 new cases, 14 are children and 40 are adults.

Nine of the cases are related to travel five interisland and four mainland. The remaining 45 cases are considered community-acquired. Thirty-eight of the community-acquired infections are close contacts of previously announced cases or are tied to an active cluster. The remaining seven community-acquired 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.

These cases bring the number of active cases to 269, with four hospitalized, and 2,005 cumulative cases.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of those who are hospitalized at this time are unvaccinated, county Managing Director Michael Dahilig said Thursday.

Earlier this week, the county identified two clusters in the last week, one in an educational setting and the other in a restaurant. The exact locations, however, were not disclosed.

Regarding cluster locations, the common feature of clusters is what people are doing, not where they are going, Kauai District Health Officier Dr. Janet Berreman said Thursday.

The high-risk behaviors that we see most often leading to clusters are large gatherings, especially indoors; unvaccinated individuals; inconsistent mask-wearing; crowding; and participating in activities while sick. Avoiding any setting where people are exhibiting these behaviors reduces your risk of being exposed and infected, she said.

Berreman said that only when the DOH cannot identify all associated close contacts will it release a specific cluster location.

However, we have a responsibility to protect the privacy for all residents as much as possible, Berreman said. If DOH is able to adequately identify and notify the close contacts, there is no need to publicly identify a location.

Today, the mobile vaccine clinic is at the Lihue Neighborhood Center, and Wainiha Country Market on Saturday, from noon to 3 p.m. each day. Hoola Lahui Hawaii representatives will be at Kekaha Neighborhood Center Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m., offering all three vaccines.

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54 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 2 new clusters - The Garden Island