Hawaii State Hospital COVID-19 Cluster Grows
Twenty people, half of whom are construction workers, have tested positive for COVID-19 at the forensic hospital campus.
Ten Hawaii State Hospital employees — four of whom work with patients — have tested positive for COVID-19, officials with the state Department of Health confirmed Thursday.
No patients have tested positive for COVID-19, DOH Spokeswoman Janice Okubo said in an email.
“Based on this information and an assessment by the DOH’s Disease Outbreak Control Division, there is no evidence of disease transmission within the hospital,” she said. “The cases are most likely the result of community spread with employees exposed to the virus from different sources outside the hospital.”
Approximately 79 other people have been tested for possible exposure, 69 of whom received negative results. The remaining 10 tests are pending results. Some employees elected to get tested by their own doctors. If they receive positive results, they are asked to report it to their supervisor.
In addition to the hospital workers, 10 construction crew members from Hensel Phelps, the contractor building a $160 million annex on the Kaneohe campus have tested positive.
Okubo said the crew members “generally do not have direct contact with our employees and have no direct contact with patients.”
All employees receive temperature checks at the beginning of their shift and are required to wear masks and physically distance while on the hospital campus.
