HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-23KauaiDepartmentofHealthannouncesfirstCOVIDrelateddeathandfournewcases
THE COUNTY OF KAUA‘I
DEREK S. K. KAWAKAMI, MAYOR
MICHAEL A. DAHILIG, MANAGING DIRECTOR
News Release
For Immediate Release: November 23, 2020
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
SARAH K. BLANE, CHIEF OF STAFF
Tel (808) 241-4900
Fax (808) 241-6877
Kaua‘i Department of Health reports first on-island fatality from COVID-19,
and four new cases
LĪHU‘E —The Kaua‘i District Health Office reported Kaua‘i’s first on-island fatality from
COVID-19 on Monday.
The elderly male was a Kaua‘i resident who had no history of travel. Another Kaua‘i
resident died of the disease earlier in July while on the mainland.
“It is heartbreaking to report this news especially as the Thanksgiving holiday
approaches this week,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami. “As a community, we share in this
painful loss together and we extend our sincere prayers, love and aloha to the family and loved
ones of this individual.”
This latest death occurred during a period of significant rise in case levels on the island,
most of which are related to travel. However, a small number of the new cases were not directly
travel-associated. This means there is now community transmission of COVID-19 on the island
for the first time since July.
Health officials also reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, one adult
resident and three adult visitors. One of the four new cases is awaiting final confirmation, which
is expected tomorrow.
All of the cases are travel-related. One of the travelers had taken a pre-travel test but did
not receive the positive test report until after arriving on Kaua‘i. Close contacts are being
identified, directed to quarantine and offered testing.
The island now has 23 confirmed active cases, all in isolation. There are now 101
individuals in health department-directed quarantine. The number of close contacts in
quarantine may increase as the investigation continues.
Kaua‘i now has a cumulative case count of 117, of which 103 are confirmed locally, one
is a probable case, and 13 are positive cases that were diagnosed elsewhere—with tests taken
on the mainland whose positive results did not arrive until they were on Kaua‘i.
For more information on the state’s COVID-19 cases or the state’s Safe Travels
program, visit hawaiicovid19.com.
For more information on the county’s voluntary post-travel testing program, visit
kauai.gov/COVID-19. For more information on the county’s surge testing program, visit
kauai.gov/test.
###