State: Two under investigation in Hawaii cleared of COVID-19
On the heels of one person on Oahu confirmed Friday to have coronavirus — Hawaii’s first case — two others under investigation were cleared Saturday, testing negative for the new illness, known as COVID-19.
The state Department of Health released information Saturday on the negative tests for the two under investigation, which means they met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for investigation and were tested.
The individual with COVID-19 has “mild to moderate symptoms” and is currently isolated at home in Honolulu, being monitored daily by the state Department of Health, according to the news release.
The individual was a passenger on the Grand Princess cruise in Mexico from Feb. 11-21. After arriving in Mexico, the person traveled home to Honolulu with no symptoms. While home in Honolulu, the individual became ill on March 1, sought medical care and was tested March 6.
To date, there have been 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (19 crew members and two passengers) on the Grand Princess cruise ship that made port calls to Kauai on Feb. 26; Honolulu on Feb. 27; Lahaina on Feb. 28; and Hilo on Feb. 29.
The ship is headed to the port of Oakland, Calif., the captain told passengers, though they were destined to stay aboard the ship for at least another day.
Grand Princess Capt. John Smith, in a recording provided by passenger Laurie Miller of San Jose, told guests the ship will dock in Oakland. Princess Cruises says it’s expected to arrive on Monday. The ship is carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries.
State DOH is working closely with the CDC to notify any passengers in Hawaii and trace all close contacts. Close contact is defined as close personal face-to-face contact for more than 10 minutes.
As of Saturday, there are 76 people who are self-monitoring with public-health supervision: 69 are on Oahu, two are on Hawaii Island, four are on Maui and one is on Kauai, the state said.
* The Associated Press contributed to this report.




