Kauai COVID cluster tied to one household grows with 7 new cases

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - After a solid 10-week run with no new COVID-19 cases on the Garden Isle, numbers jumped this weekend after officials discovered a cluster of cases all tied to the same household.

One positive case was initially reported Thursday. Since then, residents within the same household have also tested positive for the disease.

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami, who was swift to enact rules and guidelines to protect the community, echoed the sentiments of other officials, saying, “Any confirmed cases (are) of concern, but we expected this to happen. This is a virus that is very contagious.”

Officials still haven’t been able to determine if the initial positive was travel related.

The additional members of the household were already in quarantine when they were tested, where they remain.

As of Saturday, there were 29 total cases with 20 people being released from isolation.

Kawakami encourages the community to continue with social distancing and limiting risk.

“I have the full faith and confidence that the majority of people on Kauai will comply with the necessary steps that they should take,” he said.

“Of course, you’re not going to get 100 percent compliance, and in this case those folks will pose a risk. But I expect everybody to understand what are the best practices.”

He added that stopping economic activities again and forcing businesses to close would have unintended consequences.

“This is temporary, and I know it feels like a long temporary. But eventually we will get through this,” he said.

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