Three Maui Elementary Schools Connected to Positive COVID Case Involving HIDOE Employee

Pōmaikaʻi Elementary School. File photo by Wendy Osher.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Education reports that it was made aware of a COVID-19 case involving an employee who visited three Maui campuses — Pu‘u Kukui, Pōmaika‘i and Kula Elementary schools — between Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. At each school, the individual’s interaction with students and staff was limited to one classroom.

The affected individual is a Maui District Office employee, who was last at work on Dec. 1. All close contacts and staff who share the same work site have been notified. The office is sharing information about this case with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health.

“Out of an abundance of caution, staff and parents of students at the three schools who may have come into contact with this individual have been notified,” the HIDOE reports.

As a reminder, DOH is the lead agency responsible for officially notifying individuals who may have been exposed. Notifications were also distributed today to all staff and families at the three campuses. There are no positive cases at any of the three school sites.

The impacted school campuses are taking precautions to ensure the safety of staff and students, including closing impacted areas or arranging for disinfection and working closely with HIDOE’s COVID-19 Response Team. No school closures are necessary.

While it is not standard practice for HIDOE to publicly disclose individual cases, broader notification is made under certain situations, including when multiple campuses are impacted by a single case, such as this one.

HIDOE urges all staff, service providers, parents and students to perform a wellness check prior to arrival at a HIDOE facility, bit.ly/HIDOEWellnessCheck. If an individual is exhibiting symptoms or if they have been directed to quarantine by DOH, they should stay home and contact their health care provider.