Senator Kai Kahele sent a letter to Hawaii Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson on Thursday, September 3, 2020, asking questions about the recent cluster of COVID-19 casess in the Miloli’i Fishing Village on the Big Island of Hawaii. Anderson’s response is below:

Aloha Dr. Anderson,

I am writing to you to follow up on the letter that was sent on September 2, 2020 to Mayor Harry Kim from the entire Hawai’i Island Legislative delegation requesting the immediate closure of Miloli’i Fishing Village due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases there. 

When Mayor Kim was asked to publicly respond to the letter, he stated that “the official count from the Department of Health given to us in the past day does not identify Miloli’i as the center of anything”.

Currently, we know of 11 cases of COVID-19 in the last 48 hours that have occured within the village including a father and son case that reside in the same household. Miloli’i – as we stated in our letter – is an isolated, rural, predominately native Hawaiian fishing village located along the South Kona Coast. It was greatly affected by the 2015 Dengue outbreak and is extremely susceptible to a COVID-19 outbreak due to the multi-generational homes (from infants to kupuna) that live in each household. There are approximately 50 homes and 300 residents in the fishing village of Miloli’i. 

Can you please confirm:

  1.  The active number of cases of COVID-19 in the Miloli’i Fishing Village (first, second and third phase) as of today, September 3, 2020. 
  2. What constitutes a “cluster” or “outbreak” of COVID-19 that would warrant immediate action by the DOH and the County of Hawai’i?

In addition, I am requesting that the DOH strongly urge the Hawai’i County Civil Defense and Mayor Kim to submit a RFA (request for assistance) to the Hawai’i Emergency Management Agency and the Hawai’i National Guard Joint Task Force for immediate support to deploy Task Force Hawai’i national guardsman to establish an entry control point at the entrance of Miloli’i Fishing Village (Ho’opuloa) for the next 14 days to restrict access to the village to residents only. I am also requesting the DOH deploy staff to Miloli’i Fishing Village to conduct an immediate house to house assessment to establish and determine: 

  1. How many occupants are in each Miloli’i household?
  2. How many occupants are sick our have flu like symptoms?
  3. How many occupants have tested for COVID-19?
  4. How many occupants have tested positive for COVID-19?
  5. What is the status of those positive individuals? Are they in isolation in the household?
  6. What is the status of each household in regard to masks, sanitizer, and or PPE?

Due to the immediate nature of this situation I would appreciate a response as soon as possible and if you deem it necessary, immediate action on your part to implement the suggestions I have outlined above. 

Mahalo,

Kai Kahele , State Senator

Response from Hawaii Director of Health Bruce Anderson:

In your email dated September 3, 2020, you requested the information for which the Department of Health (DOH) provides the following responses.

What are the active number of cases of COVID-19 in the Miloliʻi Fishing Village as of September 3, 2020?

There are 10 cases associated with the Miloliʻi cluster, all of whom have been contacted and placed in isolation, of which six are isolating in the village.

Information suggests that a birthday party of approximately 30 people was held on August 22, 2020 in Miloliʻi Fishing Village and a hana-hou party of approximately 10 people the next day on August 23, 2020. The participants were both residents of the village and outside friends and family. Masks, physical distancing, and sanitation were not practiced, for example a karaoke microphone was passed around and used by many but not cleaned or disinfected. It appears that the COVID-19 virus was introduced by one of the party attendees.

What constitutes a “cluster” or “outbreak” of COVID-19 that would warrant immediate action by the DOH and the County of Hawaii?

Generally speaking, a cluster is more than one confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 that are linked by the same location of exposure (e.g., hospital, grocery store, etc.) or exposure event (e.g., party, vacation, etc.) that is not a household exposure.

All confirmed or probable cases warrant action by DOH as soon as possible that include education about isolation and quarantine, information on sanitization and disinfection practices, contact tracing, and urging notification of the person’s primary care provider.

Regarding your suggestion to County of Hawaii Mayor Harry Kim to establish an entry control point at the entrance of Miloliʻi Fishing Village, the department has already made that recommendation and defers to county officials for final disposition.

As for deployment of DOH resources, Public Health Nursing Branch staff, Public Health Educators, and Medical Reserve Corps volunteers will be conducting house-to-house outreach this Saturday to support county testing into the Labor Day weekend. We understand that the

County of Hawaii will mobilize their testing strike team on Saturday, with which DOH will coordinate. Unfortunately, as of the date of this letter, the department does not have the data to respond to your other six questions, but we anticipate having more information following this weekend’s activities.

For the most up-to-date information, please contact Acting Hawaii District Health Officer Mr. Eric Honda at (808) 974-6006.

Sincerely,

Bruce S. Anderson, Ph.D. Director of Health

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