State health officials said there is no “significant risk” to the public after a dozen people associated with a Kailua-Kona fast-food establishment tested positive for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, 12 people, including seven employees and five family members, associated with two currently closed McDonald’s locations had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, said state Health Director Bruce Anderson during the state’s daily briefing streamed online. The five family members were exposed to two of the employees who tested positive.
Anderson said more test results are expected in the coming days, though he did not specify how many people were tested to date or whether additional testing will be undertaken amid the ongoing Health Department investigation. The number of cases associated with the restaurants jumped from eight on Monday to 12 on Tuesday.
Despite the cluster of cases, Anderson didn’t think there was a “significant risk” to customers who visited the two locations in Kona that closed Friday for disinfection after the first test results were returned April 9. As of Tuesday afternoon, McDonald’s locations inside the Kona Walmart and at Kona Commons were shuttered while the Kuakini Highway location remained open to drive-through customers.
“At this time, we don’t believe any of the customers were impacted. We can’t for sure, of course, say that no one was (infected), but we haven’t received any reports of anyone ill as a result of patronizing that facility,” Anderson said. “Further, I would add, that they did have all the safeguards in place: they had shields, they were careful about the handing out of food — they did everything right. The problem in this case was the individual who was ill and inadvertently spread the COVID virus to co-workers, which is a very common problem in food service establishments across the country.”
The Department of Health on Tuesday evening said the Food and Drug Administration has thus far found no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19.
“The health and safety of our employees and customers is our number one priority. Our organization is continuing to make changes to restaurant operations to serve food safely and conveniently with the health and well-being of restaurant employees top of mind,” reads a quote attributed to McDonald’s franchise owner, Patrick Lim of the Lim Organization. “We have closed our Kona Commons and McDonald’s of Walmart Kona locations for deep cleaning to conduct a comprehensive sanitization of the restaurant. Our thoughts are with our crew members who have been impacted by COVID-19 and we look forward to reopening when it is safe to do so and with the assistance of the Hawaii Department of Health in accordance with CDC regulations.”
All of the individuals who tested positive as of Tuesday were isolated, according to Anderson, who confirmed a report that one patient was flown to Oahu for treatment.
In addition, exposed co-workers without symptoms and those who came in close contact with the COVID-positive people are in self-quarantine at home, though Anderson did not provide a figure of how many people could have been exposed.
“It’s interesting that the individual who was infected, who unknowingly infected his co-worker, also lived in a very large household of extended families, and seven members of that household were found infected, positive for COVID-19,” Anderson said. “Which just goes to show how quickly this disease can be spread in facilities, and, of course, in your home, and why we need to be so vigilant in assuring that we are maintaining our social distancing and using protective equipment.”
Anderson earlier said the cluster “points to how rapidly this thing can turn wrong.”
Mayor Harry Kim, who first confirmed the cluster of cases on Monday, said the community should learn from this ongoing incident.
“All of us should look upon this as a real lesson on this coronavirus; how easy it is to have a quiet period to exploding in your face,” Kim said, noting the county will be ramping up preventative efforts to include by the end of the week deploying county workers with foggers to disinfect areas such as sidewalks, hospitals and urgent care facilities.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Josh Green provided an update on hospital bed and ventilator counts for the state during the daily briefing.
As of Tuesday, about 49%, or 1,354, of the state’s 2,773 hospital beds were occupied, which is lower than average, and of the state’s 244 adult intensive care unit beds, 89, or 36%, were occupied. In addition, just 39 of the 535 ventilators in the state were in use — down 22 from Monday.
Though capacity exists and the state hasn’t seen a large number of COVID-19 positive patients, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the state Department of Health announced Tuesday they are seeking volunteers for the Hawaii Medical Reserve Corps.
“We’re asking licensed health care professionals not currently working in a medical role to consider volunteering so as to shore up medical personnel for a potential surge in COVID-19 patients,” said Healthcare Association of Hawaii President and CEO Hilton Raethel.
Medical and non-medical personnel are needed, including retired and out-of-state professionals or individuals who might have previously had a clinical license, Raethel said.
For more information or to volunteer, visit www.nlk.doh.hawaii.gov.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.