Health director hopes the ‘worst’ of hospital virus cluster is over

Only 4 new cases statewide, but officials still preach caution

The state heath director said Monday that it appears the Maui Memorial Medical Center coronavirus cluster is "contained and controlled" and that hopefully, the hospital has "seen the worst of that."

So far, the cluster has grown to 45 people -- 29 staff and 16 patients -- according to the state Department of Health. The state said the cluster may have begun with a health care worker who reported to work while ill with the virus.

Health Director Dr. Bruce Anderson said the investigation continues and is not completed.

"It's safe to say hundreds of people (have been) contacted" by the Health Department because of their close contact with infected workers and patients in the outbreak. One single infected person could lead to 15 to 20 contacts, he said.

"The good news is, we haven't found any new cases since the hospital implemented more stringent control measures back on April 8. Hopefully, we have seen the worst of that," Anderson said.

Hospital workers, especially nurses, have been at odds with the administration over personal face mask prohibitions and availability of personal protection equipment. The hospital initially prevented workers from wearing personal face masks when treating non-COVID-19 patients but later reversed itself.

Anderson said that he was not aware of any confirmed patient deaths related to the hospital outbreak but that the department was looking into a patient's death earlier this month.

The death two weeks ago may have "some association" with the cluster, he said. There was a death reported April 10 by the Health Department of an elderly man who was in a chronic care unit at Maui Memorial.

Also at Monday's news conference Anderson said "two facilities of concern" on Maui -- Hale Makua Health Services and Kula Hospital -- have shown no evidence of spread of the virus. Both are nursing homes, caring for the elderly and health compromised individuals, who are vulnerable to the virus.

Hale Makua reported last week that a nursing home resident at its Kahului facility and two home-health care clients tested positive for the coronavirus. All cases involve clients recently released from Maui Memorial and are linked to the cluster.

The resident was asymptomatic and has completed his 14-day quarantine, Hale Makua officials said. Hale Makua CEO Wesley Lo said Monday that additional tests will be done to confirm recovery.

As for the home health clients, Lo said one has been released from isolation and is recovering and the other remains in quarantine.

The 27 residents recently admitted to Hale Makua have completed their second round of testing and all are negative, Lo said.

As of Monday, Hale Makua had tested 82 employees who were in contact with the clients with COVID-19, and 80 tests have come back negative. Results for two tests, taken Wednesday and Thursday, have not come back yet, Lo said.

"Our staff at Hale Makua has been working around the clock to ensure the health and safety of those in our care." Lo said. "We are cautiously optimistic based on this first COVID case and have taken all the appropriate steps.

"However, the fight against COVID-19 is not a sprint but a marathon, and we are doing our best to keep our workforce healthy, optimistic and prepared so as a community we can come out of this strong."

At Kula Hospital, a physical therapist tested positive for the virus at a free testing clinic in Wailuku earlier this month. The worker showed no symptoms last week and was at home in quarantine. Testing on close contacts with the individual has come back negative.

"Two facilities of concern, Kula Hospital and Hale Makua, are also being evaluated," Anderson said. "So far, we haven't seen any evidence of any spread."

On Monday, the state saw one of its lowest increases in COVID-19 cases in weeks, with just four new cases, two on Maui and two on Hawaii island. There were no new cases on Oahu.

The state total, as of Monday, was 584 confirmed or presumptive positive cases.

Maui County's total was 108, with two on Molokai and still none on Lanai.

Oahu's case count remained at 385, Hawaii island at 64 and Kauai at 21. Six Hawaii residents have been diagnosed outside the state.

The number of deaths in the state remained at 10. The latest death was reported Sunday, a Washington state resident who died at Maui Memorial Medical Center. The man, in the 40 to 59 age range, had no preexisting health conditions but had a history of travel. He was at the hospital for a period of time in serious condition, DOH officials said.

Four of the deaths were on Maui; six were on Oahu.

At Monday's news conference, Lt. Gov. Dr. Josh Green said that Hawaii has a 0.7 percent mortality rate, second lowest in the country behind Wyoming. Green said the recovery rate for COVID-19 in the state is 72.4 percent.

Hawaii is doing well on its ventilators with only 15 percent of the available supply being used in the state.

He also applauded residents' efforts in flattening the coronavirus curve, noting the small number of new cases Monday.

"I know people are getting anxious to get back to normal. I want to acknowledge that I am so impressed and pleased with the way our residents have stepped up for each other to help prevent a catastrophic surge of cases in our state," Green said.

"We did a great job of flattening this curve, but there is a risk of additional spikes in cases if we're not careful," he continued. "We are diligently working to ensure we reopen Hawaii in a careful, thoughtful way that keeps people healthy and safe while jump-starting our economy as much as possible."

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.