Office of the Auditor | State of Hawai`i

In this report, we specifically discuss the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s (DOE) policies and procedures regarding department employees and students who are confirmed positive for COVID-19. We asked DOE for its current policies and procedures and to meet with department personnel who are responsible for developing and implementing those policies and procedures. However, DOE initially ignored and then declined multiple requests for information and meetings. Despite DOE’s lack of cooperation, we were able to find certain information on DOE’s website about the handling of positive COVID-19 cases on school campuses.

Summary

We intended to report on the Department of Health’s COVID-19 contact tracing process; however, the department did not respond to our requests for information. As a result, our report relied on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s interim guidance on COVID-19 contact tracing plans. We also include observations of the department’s contact tracing efforts where appropriate and to the extent that we were able to obtain the information.