Four hotels on Oahu are stepping up to help people with COVID-19

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    Oahu, HI (KITV) — If you tested positive for COVID-19 or are waiting for test results but can’t safely quarantine at home, you may qualify to stay at an isolation location.

“Could be anywhere from people in multi-generational families, would otherwise potentially infect or endanger the rest of their family members and folks who can’t separate themselves in a dedicated room or dedicated bathroom,” Eddie Mersereau, deputy director, behavioral health administration, State Department of Health, said.

Once someone is qualified, they’re picked up by a shuttle and taken to the hotel for screening. Once checked in, they’re locked-in 24/7 during their isolation period and checked-on two to three times per day. Mersereau reports demand for a room is high. Since August, the inquiry hotline receives about 350 calls per day and helped more than 300 people so far.

Four hotels on Oahu, the homeless quarantine site in Iwilei and the Hawaii State Hospital are available for isolation. Pearl Hotel Waikiki is the largest with 130 rooms. The city pays a lease of $397,000 per month.

Pearl Hotel is operated by Highgate, and its vice president of operations says they are proud to be a part of the front lines.

“We worked as a solid team to really create I think something is super beneficial for our community, for those most in need in Hawaii,” Kelly Sanders, Highgate Hawaii, said. “The stigma that goes around, the people might have about people who have been potentially exposed or have COVID but this is a good opportunity for us to clear that.”

The other three isolation hotels don’t want to be named, we’re told it’s because some owners are worried that it will create fear in the community, knowing the site has people living there who are positive for the coronavirus.

“I understand the fear and the concern that neighbors have. We as a Department of Health, Highgate has talked about, taking all necessary precautions and necessary safety precautions to make sure we don’t spread this disease to others,” Mersereau said.

The city is looking to expand the program with other hotels.

“We’re looking at various proposals and what best works for what we anticipate will be the demand. We never know how much we need or how little,” Sandy Pfong, director, City Department of Land Management, said.

The lease agreements with the properties run through the end of the year. But the hope is that fewer people will need to check in when COVID-19 checks out. To start an inquiry, call the Hawaii CARES line at 808-832-3100 or go to go.hawaii.edu/323 and fill out the form.

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