Have you been to a large gathering in the past month?   Were you exposed to COVID-19?  If you may have been, or have concerns…today, Premier Medical Group will provide free COVID-19 testing in Keaukaha  at the Kawānanakoa Gymnasium at 156 Baker Avenue, Hilo, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.  The testing is drive-through.  People must wear masks at all times and practice physical distancing.

Right now, there are at least 93 people on the Big Island known to have confirmed and active cases of COVID-19, with the island having 220 cumulative cases.   As of Wednesday at 1 p.m., there were 12 people in Hilo Medical Center with COVID-19, 5 of them in serious condition in the Intensive Care Unit, and 7 in what CEO Dan Brinkman called a “COVID pod,” an area protected from other parts of the hospital with physical plastic barriers.  Those patients in the ICU are separated from others, also, via physical barriers.

Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim said on Tuesday that there have been large gatherings on the island with people not distancing and not wearing masks, including in Keaukaha, and several cases appear to have been contracted at the gatherings.   There are also cases at the Yukio Otsuku Veterans’ Home near Hilo Medical Center.   Kim said on Tuesday, he signed a contract for Premier Medical Group to provide free testing, at a time when the island is experiencing the surge and there is concern about the spread.  He said it’s important for people to get tested to find out whether they may have the virus.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams was on O’ahu Tuesday, and said mass testing is the only way to really know how widespread the virus is in the state.  He was on O’ahu to announce that the state is considered in need of Federal help because of the high positivity rate of those tested — more than 5% and on some days as high as 10.7%–and the recent spike in cases.  Because of that, the Federal Government is paying to set up several mass testing sites on O’ahu with a goal of doing 5,000 tests a day.   Dr. Adams urged, and Mayor Kim is urging, that anybody who feels they need it–for whatever reason–to get tested.  You don’t need to have symptoms, especially since it’s known that 40% of the people with COVID-19 have no symptoms….but they can still spread it to others.   If you think you’ve been exposed, or do have symptoms…please get tested.

No insurance is necessary to be tested, but please bring your insurance card if you have one.

All officials have stressed that the future of the coronavirus and everybody’s health is up to us, and that we need to wear masks, to stay away from large gatherings, to stay at least six feet from others.

If you are elsewhere, there are several places to get COVID-19 testing.  Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Talmadge Magno said on Wednesday afternoon that the agency is in the process of updating its list.  Once available, we will provide a link to it.

For further information, please call Hawaii County Civil Defense at 935-0031.