Six additional individuals who live off campus have tested positive for COVID-19, the University of the Nations Kona reported Friday.
“These persons have been in quarantine for 11 days and therefore have not increased the threat level for campus or the wider community,” said Johnny Gillespie, media relations for the faith-based university.
This week, 955 people were tested in an initiative to curb the spread of COVID-19 after a cluster of cases was connected to the school earlier this month. As of Friday, the university said it had received the results from 662 of these tests with just two positive results that were included in Thursday’s numbers. Both individuals have been in quarantine for seven days since being identified through contact tracing.
Gillespie is confident the remaining 293 test results will have negligible results because those individuals — most of whom were students who arrived in late September — have been in quarantine for more than 14 days.
“Our medical team and the Department of Health did an amazing job keeping this from spreading into the Kona community,” he said, adding the students and families have been isolating in their rooms, observing very strict isolation protocols.
Gillespie said Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim “strongly requested” the UofNK campus be locked down after the first sign of a cluster was reported. He said Kim asked that the campus remain locked down until all of the test results came back, which is expected in the next day or two.
“We want to control the spread,” said Gillespie. “Even after all the results are in, we will not be letting students off campus until we feel it is safe. DOH and our medical team have been ruthless with contact tracing. We will be very low risk when we are done.”
UofNK has reported 44 total cases, with 40 still considered active. There have been no hospitalizations. Twenty-one of the active cases reside on campus while the remaining 19 are isolating within the community.
“We are thankful that all our active cases are experiencing minor symptoms,” he said.
The entire campus remains on lockdown, with all campus residents quarantined in their rooms.
“We continue to cooperate fully with the Department of Health. As always, the safety of our staff, students, and the Kona community remain our highest priority,” emphasized Gillespie. “We hope all of Kona will help to stop the spread.”
Kim said even though the original numbers for UofNK were concerning, as soon as the university was informed of the cluster, its cooperation was exemplary.
“They had a potential of having a real problem. When we requested the quarantine, it was immediately done,” said Kim. “It is now a very controlled situation.”
The six cases announced by the faith-based university were among 45 new cases on Hawaii Island reported Friday by state health officials bringing the island’s total case count to 911. Kim said that the majority of the new cases were associated with Life Care of Hilo. Thirteen were in Kona.
The Hawaii Island cases were among 101 new positive results announced by the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center Thursday bringing the statewide tally to 13,300. Oahu reported 86 new cases and Maui County reported one.
As of noon Friday, 2,649 of those known cases were considered active, including 242 cases on Hawaii Island. An active case is defined as an individual who has tested positive for the coronavirus and is being monitored by the Department of Health.
According to the Department of Health, 131 cases have onset dates within 28 days in the Kailua-Kona area and 118 cases have onset dates within the past 28 days in the Hilo area.
Statewide, 911 COVID-19 patients have required hospitalization, including 47 on Hawaii Island, according to the center’s noon update.
Meanwhile, the state reported two new coronavirus-related deaths on Oahu.
Of the 166 coronavirus-related deaths confirmed and reported to date among Hawaii residents to date, 138 were on Oahu, 12 were on Maui, 15 were on Hawaii Island, and one was a Kauai resident receiving treatment in Arizona at the time he died.
Including a death Monday at Kona Community Hospital, a death Thursday at Hilo Medical Center and a death Friday at the Life Care Center of Hilo, Hawaii Island has seen 37 people die from the novel coronavirus. That figure includes 27 residents of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo. The state has yet to confirm and report the last 22 deaths on the island.
Testing will be held today at the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona and at Kamakoa Nui Park in Waikoloa. Testing will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at both locations.