The Maui News

Maui County had no new COVID clusters under investigation as of Thursday, though the Department of Health was continuing to investigate one cluster of six cases in an educational setting and one cluster of eight cases at a place of worship.

According to the department’s weekly cluster report released Thursday, all other counties also had two clusters each, though larger in size. Hawaii County continued to have one active cluster at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center that has totaled 270 cases since it began, as well as one cluster of five cases in an unidentified setting.

Honolulu County had one cluster of 20 cases connected to a place of worship and one cluster of 10 cases tied to a social gathering.

Kauai County had one cluster of 11 cases at a place of worship and one cluster of four cases at a shelter.

The department’s cluster report warned that employee work breaks and socializing outside of work have been consistently reported during the pandemic. The report recommended that employers and restaurant owners close shared spaces such as break rooms, implement protocols such as staggered break times, prevent congregating in common locations, increase COVID-19 education and encourage employees to get vaccinated, possibly by using incentives.