Kauai moves back to Tier 4 as mayor proposes even less restrictive Tier 5

LIHUE, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Kauai County is back to the least restrictive Tier 4 status. The change kicked in on Monday following a drop in daily COVID cases.

The county said over the last two consecutive weeks, cases remained below an average of two per day, triggering the tier change.

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami credited the community with doing their part to get cases back under control. Tier 4 for Kauai allows for gatherings of up to 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors, with restrictions and safety guidelines in place.

Kauai has spent many months in Tier 4 as case counts have been among the lowest in the state.

“I think people on Kauai are used to being in tier 4, so its not going to seem like a big change, but the case numbers have changed significantly,” Kawakami said.

They moved down to Tier 3 in early May as clusters and cases were rapidly on the rise in the tight-knit community.

Looking forward, Kawakami says his discussions with the governor have also been positive. Kawakami proposed a Tier 5, in which social gatherings and capacity limits would be even further expanded.

He’s banking on a high vaccination rate for that change to happen, saying 60% of island residents should be vaccinated before stepping up beyond Tier 4.

County officials continue to encourage residents to utilize COVID testing and vaccination sites around the islands. Click here for more details.

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