Lynn DeCoite

Molokai residents became frustrated over a “broken system” of state Department of Health contact tracing and communication after a string of COVID-19 positive cases broke out on the island, a state lawmaker said Thursday.

Seventeen cases were reported since late August on the small, rural island that lacks many resources available on other islands. Prior to August, Molokai had only seen two cases.

Rep. Lynn DeCoite, who lives on Molokai, said that during recent upticks, DOH contact tracing was spotty and lacked follow- up.

“You have those in isolation, you have a contact tracer calling the husband and the wife hasn’t gotten a call in five to six days,” she said during a public informational briefing Thursday. “We had cases that broke out where people literally walking around town and yet no follow-up.”

State health officials said Thursday that they’re working on improving contact tracing and bolstering testing capacity — especially for Neighbor Islands.

Sarah Kemble

“We heard consistently that the Neighbor Islands need to be paid attention to,” state House Minority Leader Gene Ward said during the informational briefing.

Contact tracing training for Molokai residents is a concern, DeCoite said. Currently, resources available for training on Oahu are not offered on Molokai, she said.

Getting answers from the DOH when outbreaks occur also proved challenging, DeCoite added.

“It’s really frustrating for the people in the community to literally know (COVID-19-positive individuals) walking around, wondering why the system is completely broken with a lack of communication,” she said.

Dr. Sarah Kemble, acting state epidemiologist, acknowledged that there were hurdles for communication and contact tracers in the Molokai outbreak.

Libby Char

“I know that on Molokai there were a lot of issues with getting good contact information right away for our contact tracers,” she said.

Kemble said laboratories were using a new electronic system and that some phone numbers were not transmitted or were transmitted incorrectly during the transition.

Kemble said one of the keys is the partnership with federally qualified health centers and other providers to collect information and provide data to DOH. The state is looking at expanding the partnership and improving the flow of information.

“It sounds like something we need to work on,” she added.

Efforts are also being made to boost the testing on the Neighbor Islands, officials said Thursday.

“We are trying to increase the capacity on the Neighbor Islands so that tests can be run on the Neighbor Islands and it’s a faster turnaround time — they don’t have to ship them out,” said new state Health Director Dr. Libby Char. “We are working on that right now.”

Currently, Hawaii is running about 4,000 tests per day and has the capacity to run about 5,000 per day, she said.

That’s up from the 1,300 per day that could be done in June.

Lawmakers asked about pre-travel and post-travel testing for trans-Pacific and intracounty travel, and whether testing is supported by the DOH and would be made available by the state in the future.

Char said that while the department backs a second test due to medical data, testing kits are not available for travelers — whether residents or visitors looking to test out of quarantine.

“Right now we don’t have the capacity to test for travel,” she said. “If we got a little more, we would probably prioritize it for our local populations, for schools, correctional facilities, to respond quickly to clusters and outbreaks.”

The livestreamed Facebook discussion Thursday among state lawmakers and health officials covered disease investigation, testing, contact tracing and isolation and quarantine programs.

It is the first in a series of public informational briefings facilitated by the state House of Representatives to “gather and disseminate critical information on government plans and initiatives underway to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

Upcoming briefing topics include nursing facilities and care home updates, K-12 distance learning, Hawaii’s Safe Travels and tourism reopening plan and the state COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Weekly briefings will continue through the end of the year. Public testimony is not accepted.

To access the live videos, visit www.facebook.com/hawaiihouseofreps/.

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.