County of Maui Briefed on Grand Princess Cruise Situation

The County of Maui has been briefed by the State Department of Health, Governor’s Office and emergency response partners regarding the new confirmed COVID-19 cases from the Grand Princess Cruise ship.

“We are working closely and diligently with our state partners and neighbor counties on this rapidly evolving situation,” Mayor Michael Victorino said in a press release on Friday afternoon. “We are taking every action we can to minimize risks to our community and urge the public to remain calm.

“I want to remind everyone to continue taking common sense actions, such as washing their hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home when they’re sick.”

The Maui District Health Office is taking proactive measures to protect the public’s health and wellbeing. The office is asking people who believe they had prolonged exposure to someone from the Grand Princess Cruise ship, and started seeing symptoms after March 1, to call (808) 984-8213 or their healthcare professional.

The symptoms the Maui District Health Office is looking for are fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. Your healthcare professional will work with the State DOH and CDC to determine if you need to be tested for COVID-19.

DOH is capable of in-state testing for COVID-19 and results can be ready within 24 to 48 hours of a sample being collected. This enhances the state’s prevention and mitigation response capabilities to further safeguard the health of people in Hawai‘i. The FDA is overseeing the development of commercially manufactured test kits for private and clinical laboratories that may be available in a few weeks.

For primary sources of information and updates, please visit the State DOH website and CDC.

https://www.facebook.com/HawaiiDOH/videos/1453589121480244

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. PC: Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM. Content provider: CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS