Another COVID-19 case is reported on Molokai

County says it is testing public works staff at baseyard

Another positive COVID-19 case has been identified on Molokai -- a worker at the county Public Works Department baseyard -- county officials said Tuesday afternoon.

Deputy Managing Director Josiah Nishita said Tuesday afternoon that the employee is in self-isolation at home and that the Public Works Department was notified late Monday afternoon about the positive test result.

Those who have been in close contact with the person have been contacted by the Health Department and are also in self-isolation, he said.

Twenty workers at the baseyard have been tested, Nishita said during Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino's daily news conference. The Health Department continues to investigate and monitor the case.

On Tuesday, there were five new COVID-19 cases reported on Maui. Molokai's total remained at four, with the new case not yet in the official DOH count; Lanai continued to have no cases. Cases in rural areas, such as Molokai and Lanai, have been a concern for state and county officials due to the remoteness and lack of medical facilities to treat the cases.

There also was a deep cleaning of equipment and vehicles at the Molokai baseyard Tuesday morning, and essential functions will continue with physical distancing and wearing of face coverings, Nishita said.

When asked by The Maui News whether workers had stayed home while awaiting results, Victorino said that workers were split into two groups -- those with suspected contact and those who had not. Those who had contact with the positive worker are quarantining at this time.

Those who had "very little contact" are being tested and are required to go to work, he said. "We are monitoring them very closely," Victorino said. "We are doing what is right. We are following the procedures."

Victorino said that the county is making sure that services to the public still are being provided.

State. Rep. Lynn DeCoite, whose district includes Molokai and is a Molokai resident, said that the cases are related to a family and is connected with a reported case or cases at Kualapu'u Charter School. The school closed its campus from Sunday through at least Thursday after learning that a "student(s)" had been exposed to a positive COVID-19 person.

"We are kind of worried right now, the family is starting to feel the sickness. We are kind of monitoring them," DeCoite said Tuesday morning.

DeCoite said she was "bummed out" about DOH contact tracing policies, which allow family members exposed to COVID-19 to decline testing for the virus. She said there shouldn't be an option, and testing everyone, like in this family, can assist in containing the virus.

The requirement also can make a small community like Molokai more at ease.

An email sent to the Health Department, asking whether testing is made optional for families with COVID-19 exposure, was not immediately returned Tuesday.

It might be better if contact tracers from the patient's community reach out rather than someone from another island, DeCoite said.

The state representative also called for more public health information, such as a website where people could see where an infected person had been. There would not need to be names, maybe a designated number instead, and the island where the infected person is from.

For now, DeCoite said people should continue to social distance, wear their masks and wash their hands.

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