(BIVN) – The County of Hawaiʻi on Wednesday morning reported the identification of a positive COVID-19 case at the Liberty Dialysis center in Hilo, and said that screening and testing of all those that could have been infected is underway.

The announcement came via the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense morning message, which also supported the Hawaiʻi Department of Health indication that there are seven (7) active cases of COVID-19 on Hawaiʻi island.

Here is this morning’s full civil defense message:

On today’s update of COVID-19, the number of active cases monitored by the Department of Health for Hawaii Island is seven. At this date, for Hawaii Island, no one is hospitalized. The increase of positive cases on Hawaii Island in the past two days are primarily travel related which emphasizes the importance of exercising caution of traveling trans-Pacific as well as inter-island.

For your information, due to the identification of a positive case at a Hilo dialysis center and to ensure the safety of all clients and staff, the Department of Health and County of Hawaii Task Force are working closely with the administration of the Liberty Dialysis in response to this incident. This includes screening and testing of all those that could have been infected and the disinfecting of the dialysis facilities. Testing began yesterday and approximately 200 people were already tested.

For your information, a drive through testing is scheduled for today in North Kona at the Keauhou Shopping Center. Hours are from 9:00 in the morning ‘til noon. Thank you Aliʻi Health for providing this service and the Hawaii National Guard and County Task Force for helping. An ʻOhana food service is also scheduled for Hilo at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Distribution begins at 10:00 this morning. Thank you Hawaii Food Basket and their contributors for providing this service and the Hawaii National Guard and County Task Force for helping.

Hawaii Island continues to remain in a good place, but we must know that the Coronavirus threat still remains. Everyone must do their part, especially when socializing, by following the preventive measures of face coverings, cleanliness, keeping yourself healthy, of staying at home when sick, and special care of gatherings and distancing. Thank you for making the effort to keep our neighbors, friends, family, and community safe.

As a reminder, do know the wearing of face masks is mandatory on the Island of Hawaii.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health update will be issued at noon today.