Maui Jail Clear of COVID-19 Cases

Maui Jail Clear of Active COVID-19 Cases

The Maui Community Correctional Center is now clear of all active COVID-19 cases, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

The department today reported that the remaining two inmates with active positive cases have since recovered.

Since the outbreak was first reported in early February 2021, infections were reported in at least 94 inmates and two staff members. All have since recovered, according to department officials. Out of the 909 total tests conducted on MCCC inmates, 810 cases were negative, and there were five tests that came back as inconclusive over the course of testing earlier in the outbreak.

The state Department of Health reported a slightly higher case count of 100, during its latest cluster report released on April 8, saying all cases in the jail cluster were linked to the primary setting.

COVID-19 testing is continuously being conducted statewide at all facilities.

One Employee Tests Positive at HCCC

DPS reports that a single employee at Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island reported a positive test result to the facility today. The employee last worked April 7. No HCCC inmates have reported symptoms but as a precaution the facility has enacted their pandemic protocol to quarantine the facility and suspend all inmate movement. Facility health care staff and the Department of Health have initiated contact tracing and testing with the assistance of Premier Medical Group. The facility sanitized the spaces where the employee worked. 

ACLU of Hawai‘i Files Amicus Brief Asking State Supreme Court Not to Terminate COVID-19 Mitigation in Jails

On Wednesday, April 7, 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i filed an amicus brief asking the Hawai‘i Supreme Court not to prematurely conclude its oversight of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Public Safety’s response to COVID-19 within correctional facilities. The brief also specifically urged the Court not to terminate orders that have prohibited judges from imposing bail on defendants accused of certain low-level offenses during the pandemic.

The ACLU brief further claims that “termination of the matter now would worsen the unconstitutional conditions suffered by people who are incarcerated. Critically, it would also increase the threat of future COVID-19 outbreaks—both inside DPS facilities and in the broader Hawai‘i community.”