HONOLULU — Hawaii is in the midst of a debate over the number of contact tracers needed to locate people who have had close contact with people who tested positive for the coronavirus, while Democratic Lt. Gov. Josh Green called for new oversight for the program.
Green called for State Epidemiologist Sarah Park to be removed from management of the state’s contact tracing effort.
Green said he wants to employ 400 to 500 contact tracers, while estimating the state needs hundreds more, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.
“We can either contact trace or lock down,” Green said last Friday.
Park did not respond directly to Green’s statement. A spokesperson said Park and state Health Director Bruce Anderson would only answer questions during scheduled news briefings as a result of their workload, Hawaii Public Radio reported Tuesday.
The State of Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center responded to a request for comment from the Associated Press with a statement by Democratic Gov. David Ige, which said in part, “I am in ongoing discussions with DOH leadership on ways to improve our testing and contact tracing systems and capacity. And we are confident that plans and resources are being put in place to meet the needs of our community.”
Park told a state Senate committee Thursday that the Hawaii Department of Health has 105 active contact tracers and is adding more.
There are 62 contact tracers on Oahu, 18 each on Maui and Hawaii island and seven on Kauai, Park said.
The department can only add tracers through a phased approach accounting for work-space limitations and the need for effective teamwork, Park said.
Park touted the role of contact tracers when advocating for $2.5 million in federal recovery funding to form a training partnership with the University of Hawaii. But her Senate testimony was also perceived by some as downplaying the necessity of tracers.
“Some states have abandoned contact tracing a long time ago. We could have done so as well, but we have chosen not to,” Park said.
Democratic state Sen. Sharon Moriwaki said Park’s responses prompted a surprise visit by senators to the health department Friday, where they documented understaffing and poor working conditions.
“We only saw about 10 workers and two supervisors here,” Moriwaki said. “It was like a sweatshop. People were working 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, including weekends. One person had a caseload of 190 cases, another 100.”
Meanwhile Tuesday, state health officials reported 118 new cases of COVID-19 as Hawaii’s total case count reached 3,756.
Of the new positive cases announced Tuesday, 112 were on Oahu, four on Maui and two on the Big Island, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center. With the new cases, Hawaii has now seen 3,756 cases of the novel coronavirus since Feb. 28.
Oahu has recorded the majority of the cases with 3,361 cases while Maui County has recorded 190 cases, Hawaii County 133 and Kauai County 49. Twenty-three residents have tested positive while out of the state.
Of the Hawaii residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, 1,627 of those cases have since recovered and been released from isolation. That includes 117 of the 113 known cases on Hawaii Island.
Statewide, 251 patients have required hospitalization, including four on Hawaii Island.
Of the 34 deaths reported among Hawaii residents, 27 were on Oahu, six were on Maui and one was a Kauai resident receiving treatment in Arizona at the time he died.
The interisland quarantine rule that ended June 16 was partially reinstated on Tuesday. People arriving on Oahu from the other islands won’t need to quarantine, but travelers arriving in the other counties from other islands will. Travelers arriving from out of state are also under a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
To report violations in Hawaii County of Gov. David Ige’s emergency proclamations and orders, call (808) 935-0031.