Oahu high school reports 3 COVID cases in the past week, will temporarily close campus facilities

Kapolei High School is transitioning to a full distance learning model for all students and teleworking for all staff, effective Wednesday, Nov. 4 through Wednesday, Nov. 11, with school facilities expected to reopen Nov. 12.

News Release from Hawaii DoE, 02-Nov-2020

Out of an abundance of caution, school officials announced today that the Kapolei High School campus will be closed to students and staff after three employee-related COVID-19 cases were reported in the last four days.

Kapolei High School (KHS) is transitioning to a full distance learning model for all students and teleworking for all staff, effective Wednesday, Nov. 4 through Wednesday, Nov. 11, with school facilities expected to reopen Nov. 12. (Tuesday is a state holiday and the campus was already scheduled to be closed.)

The school will continue to monitor the situation and will inform staff and families if the anticipated reopening date has to be updated.

In the meantime, grab-and-go meal service at the campus will be discontinued until further notice. Families can pick up grab-and-go meals from any nearby campus. See a list of participating schools here. The school’s planned learning hub to facilitate additional on-campus learning for prioritized students is also being postponed until further notice.

The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) COVID-19 Response Team is coordinating professional cleaning and sanitizing efforts while the campus is closed

A timeline of the cases and mitigation efforts taken by the school, in consultation with the response team and DOH, are below:

Case No. 1: KHS made aware on Thursday, Oct. 29. This employee was last on campus Thursday, Oct. 22 and had minimal contact with staff and students. Potential close contacts have been notified and impacted areas on campus were professionally sanitized on Friday, Oct. 30. 

Case No. 2: KHS made aware on Friday, Oct. 30. This employee was last on campus Friday, Oct. 16. Due to timing of the case on campus and symptom onset, it does not fall into the window of time where staff and students are impacted. The professional cleaning and sanitizing from the previous case addressed the impacted areas for this case.

Case No. 3: KHS made aware on Monday, Nov. 2 (pending confirmation). This employee was last on campus Wednesday, Oct. 21. HIDOE continues to investigate this case and is in touch with DOH.

According to DOH, officials have ruled out a connection between Case No. 2 and the others. HIDOE will continue to follow up with DOH on their findings and guidance.

While it is not standard practice for HIDOE to publicly disclose school-level cases, broader notification is made under certain situations, including closure of a school. Anyone with concerns about these cases is encouraged to contact their health care provider or DOH using these options, health.hawaii.gov/docd/contact-us/

HIDOE urges all staff, service providers, parents and students to perform a wellness check prior to arrival at a HIDOE facility or before they have any educational or work-related interaction, bit.ly/HIDOEWellnessCheck. If an individual is exhibiting symptoms or if they have been directed to quarantine by DOH, they should stay home and contact their health care provider.