(BIVN) – Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Hawaiʻi island, and in a morning radio message, emphasized that the new cases are located in Hilo and appear to be the result of community spread.

The radio message was delivered by Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kim.

From the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense:

On today’s update of COVID-19, the number of active cases, on Hawaii Island, monitored by the Department of Health is twenty-three. There are four new cases of Coronavirus on Hawaii Island. All four of these cases have been identified as Hilo based. These new cases are not associated with any known clusters and are considered community spread. These cases are now isolated and monitored by the Department of Health. At this date, for Hawaii Island, one person is hospitalized.

For your information, a drive through testing is scheduled today in North Kona at the Keauhou Shopping Center. Hours are from 9:00 in the morning ‘til noon.

Again Hawaii Island has seen a daily increase of positive cases for the past two weeks. Most of these recent cases are not travel related which means the virus is being transmitted within the community. Data from the Department of Health indicates the majority of these new cases originated in Hilo. It has been noted that many have not been following the policies of gatherings, distancing and wearing of face coverings. A review is now underway to see what policies changes if any need to occur to address the growing spread of the virus.

Know that person to person close contact is the main method that the virus is spread and we need your help in following the guidelines of gatherings, distancing and face coverings.