DOH report: Maui County still has most active clusters in state

Maui County continued to have the most active COVID19 clusters in the state as of Thursday, with outbreaks still growing at the jail, a church and a cleaning service.

A cluster at the Maui Community Correctional Center had reached a total of 98 cases, according to the state Department of Health’s weekly cluster report.

Jail officials have called the cluster “under control,” with only five active inmate cases and seven more negative cases reported on Thursday, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Five inmates were in isolation and 161 were in quarantine.

Since the outbreak was reported Feb. 1, 89 inmates and two staff members have recovered, the department said. With few active cases, some inmates have been transported to the courthouse for in-person appearances again.

Another large cluster is at a place of worship, with 48 cases. While the report does not identify locations of clusters, the Health Department announced Wednesday that a cluster at King’s Cathedral posed an “imminent risk to public health,” and a DOH spokesperson said that the cluster had reached 55 cases.

Church representatives said they had canceled an Easter production and Easter egg hunt but still planned to hold in-person services, even as DOH recommended virtual services instead. Maui County officials said Thursday that “in the spirit of compromise” they would offer the use of War Memorial Stadium as a safer outdoor alternative for the in-person Easter program.

Maui County also had one ongoing cluster among cleaning service employees that had reached 42 cases, as well as two clusters of 20 cases in the travel, lodging and tourism industry; two clusters of 13 cases in other occupational settings; and one cluster of 17 cases among food suppliers.

Honolulu County, meanwhile, had two clusters of 26 cases among restaurants, two clusters of 21 cases in the construction and industrial industries, one cluster of 10 cases in educational settings and one cluster of nine cases among food suppliers.

Hawaii and Kauai counties had no active clusters under investigation within the past 14 days.