Beginning Wednesday, June 16, 2021 a free short-term community COVID-19 testing program will be set up by the County of Hawaiʻi to address the reported cluster at the Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center in Hilo (HCCC). Currently, a total of 199 HCCC inmates and 19 staff have tested positive for the virus.
The first day of testing will be held at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo, with subsequent testing sites to be determined. The public will be notified of any changes to testing locations.
Testing is set to be administered on the following days:
Wednesday, June 16 and 23
Saturday, June 19 and 26
The decision to implement testing was made based on the following:
- Number of positives amongst HCCC staff and the continued possibility of community spread;
- The overall increase in visitor arrivals;
- The lifting of inter-island flight restrictions on June 15;
- The increasing number of social gatherings due to graduation and other summer activities.
In a press release Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth said, “at this time, we feel that setting up a testing program is the best way for us to gather data to ensure that our communities remain protected. We are slowly beginning our return to normalcy, and ensuring that we don’t trip at the finish line is our number one priority. We would also like to remind residents that with the new variants becoming prevalent in the community that it is truly our kuleana to get vaccinated to keep our community healthy, happy, and safe as we begin our recovery towards a thriving Hawaiʻi Island.”
Testing and vaccinations will also be made available to HCCC staff/families upon request.
