Maui and O‘ahu COVID-19 Clusters Detailed

Dr. Bruce Anderson. Office of the Governor, State of Hawaiʻi / Hawai’i COVID-19 Joint Information Center

Maui Clusters Detailed:

Several clusters on Maui are being tracked by the state Department of Health, including small clusters arising from activity at a construction site.

In another cluster, DOH officials say five Maui residents held a party on Oʻahu.  One case from the party attended another gathering while ill and symptomatic.  Nine cases were later associated with this party.

In another cluster, the Department of Health reports that a healthcare facility on Maui has 24 positive cases including 13 staff and 11 patients.  There was also one patient case that was identified after discharge.

That differs from a noon update on Tuesday provided by the Maui Memorial Medical Center, which indicates there are 36 positive cases identified by Maui Health since Thursday (Aug. 13), including 19 health care workers and 17 patients.

State Health Director Dr. Bruce Anderson noted that the investigation there is ongoing.  “The index cases appear to be an employee and a patient and both appear to have come from the community,” said Dr. Michael Shea, Intensivist and EOC Physician Lead at Maui Health during an interview with Maui Now earlier today.

Honolulu Clusters Detailed:

In Honolulu, many cases are new and unassociated with other known positive cases, according to state Health officials.

Over the past month, the following clusters have been identified on Oʻahu:

• Circuit gym cluster (4): There were four cases associated with a report of inconsistent masking at the facility.  The DOH investigation is ongoing.
• Preschool cluster in one bubble (4): This involves a teacher and three students. Health officials say the index case was associated with previously confirmed cases in the teacher’s household.
• Health plan offices (31): At least 31 cases have been identified.  An investigation is ongoing.
• Homeless shelter (20): There are 20 cases associated with this cluster.  A quarantine has been implemented facility-wide.  The DOH investigation is ongoing.
• 5 distinct restaurant clusters: Each restaurant cluster involves multiple employees at a single location. There has been no transmission to customers identified.
• City and County of Honolulu office (11): This cluster involves 11 cases located on two floors. Health officials say there were potluck gatherings mentioned by employees being investigated as potential transmission source.
• Strip club worker with potential exposures to coworkers and clientele: A clarification on of place of work is pending.
• Oʻahu Community Correctional Center (287 cases):  Facility areas are in lockdown and additional facility-wide testing continues. Conditions are described as “challenging.”
• Automotive cleaning and detailing service location (16 cases): The DOH investigation is ongoing.
• 3 fire stations (10 confirmed cases in firefighters): The DOH investigation is ongoing.
• Large funeral cluster (75 confirmed cases linked to a series of funeral events)
• Bar clusters involving at least 5 people and 2 bars: Brix & Bones and Arena 808 (period of concern, July 16–26).  DOH officials say there’s a possibly of up to seven cases downstream of this cluster,
• Construction company (10 cases): The DOH investigation is ongoing.

Recent Cases, Statewide Breakdown:

The state has reported another triple digit increase in new COVID-19 cases with 134 new cases today including 124 on Oʻahu, seven on Maui and three on Hawaiʻi Island.

Today, the case count includes 129 adult cases and 5 children.  Department officials say the child cases are household contacts of adult cases, indicating the virus is spreading within households. (On Monday, there were 158 adult cases and 16 children among the newly confirmed positive cases).

Based on the information available for Tuesday’s new cases, 105 cases were exposed by community spread, 23 are unknown sources, and seven cases have a travel-related exposure, which means they likely obtained the disease while outside of the state or their county of residence.

Of all cases since March, 93% are Hawaiʻi residents and 2% are non-residents from other states or countries. Information is pending for 5% of the cases.

Investigations and contact tracing continue as the DOH works to identify cases connected to gatherings or “hanging out with close friends” or co-workers.

There are also cases of residents who traveled recently or hosted out of state visitors.  One of the three cases on Hawaiʻi Island today had a history of travel to Oʻahu, according to state health officials.

High-Risk Situations 

Based on information gathered from disease investigations and contact tracing, state Health officials say the following circumstances are increasing the likelihood of community spread because of inconsistent mask use and inconsistent physical distancing protocols:

Multiple household and other clusters associated with social interactions— examples include house parties, beach parties/gatherings, birthday parties, Father’s Day and Fourth of July gatherings, religious functions, mahjong, spectating a sporting event fight (several instances of gathering at a person’s home to watch), co-workers sitting in prolonged (two hour) meeting and removing masks to drink water, co-workers eating lunch together without distancing, retail establishments, warehouse and delivery personnel, funeral events (multiple gatherings, visitations, etc. without adhering to safe practices), meeting for drinks/socializing at bars and retirement celebrations.  Health officials say these events occurred with inconsistent mask use and inconsistent physical distancing.

COVID-19 Cases in Long Term Care Facilities and Community Care Homes in Hawaiʻi 
(March 1 – present) 

*Includes combined skilled nursing and assisted living facility.  This table was compiled by the state Department of Health.