Long-Term Care Patient On Oahu Diagnosed With COVID-19
The state Department of Health said this is only the second nursing home patient in Hawaii to be diagnosed with the virus.
A patient from Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center was diagnosed with COVID-19 after being transferred to an unnamed Oahu hospital, state health officials said Monday.
The latest case follows another virus infection confirmed Friday in a nurse who worked at the same facility.
Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson said at a press conference that the patient initially went through a COVID-19 screening before being admitted to the facility. It wasn’t until the patient exhibited “COVID-like” symptoms and was transferred to the hospital that he was found to be infected upon taking a second test, Anderson said.
Staff and residents are still undergoing testing but Anderson said he expected all results to come in within the next few days.
In a , Hale Nani said only five staff members had pending test results, and all other employees and patients tested had negative results. According to DOH, approximately 57 Hale Nani employees and patients have been tested, all of whom had negative results.
“Other prevention measures have been taken,” said Anderson. “Everyone is masked, and visitation has essentially been eliminated and I believe all staff are examined for symptoms three times a day, so it鈥檚 a pretty rigorous process of monitoring the facility. Insofar they鈥檝e done a perfect job as I鈥檝e seen it.”
The nurse had become symptomatic on June 10 and tested positive two days later. Officials did not provide details about when the patient was admitted to Hale Nani.
Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has about 288 beds and is one of the largest nursing facilities in the state.
To date, state health officials have reported four infections among elderly care employees, and this case would mark the second nursing home resident found to have COVID-19, Anderson said.
The other was a resident patient at Hale Makua Health Services, a nursing facility on Maui. That patient was believed by health officials to be infected while at Maui Memorial Medical Center, Anderson said.
