Hawaii County declares emergency over dengue fever outbreak

HILO — Gov. David Ige declined again Monday to declare an emergency in response to Hawaii County’s dengue fever outbreak, despite Mayor Billy Kenoi declaring a state of emergency earlier in the day.

In a statement emailed to media late Monday afternoon, the governor said he “supports the county’s effort to break the cycle of dengue fever infection and transmission on Hawaii Island.”

However, the governor also said that an emergency proclamation only would be forthcoming if a number of conditions were met, including the outbreak requiring additional resources beyond current levels; the outbreak spreading to other islands; the outbreak expanding to include Zika and other vector-borne diseases; it becomes necessary to waive certain laws and regulations; or the state determines it will need federal assistance.

The list of conditions was never mentioned at a press conference held by the governor one week ago at the state Capitol. There, Ige was joined by Kenoi and county Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira, among others, to defend Ige’s handling of the outbreak, following a high-profile call by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to declare an emergency.

Ige told reporters at the press conference that his office had deferred to Hawaii County officials from the very beginning of the outbreak, and that so far the county had not requested an emergency declaration from the state. He revealed that his staffers had begun drafting an emergency declaration back in November, shortly after the outbreak was announced.

But, he said, “the County of Hawaii is the incident commander, and they are the ones that really know the communities best, and they are in the best position to make the most important decisions about what the government response should be. I just wanted to reiterate that the state and the federal government is really providing supportive roles to support all of the activities for those people on the front line.”

Despite declining to declare an emergency, Ige said Monday that his office was working to release up to $250,000 for eight vector control positions, one entomologist and one communications position to bolster the ongoing dengue response.

Ige’s response Monday came after state health officials reported that the outbreak has spread to a confirmed total of 251 people, with one new case being identified since Friday.

Meanwhile, Hawaii County Civil Defense posted on its website earlier Monday a copy of Kenoi’s emergency declaration, which is slated to last 60 days, barring any extensions or amendments by the mayor.

It was unclear, however, what impact the county’s declaration will have in the absence of a declaration from the governor, which is necessary to release state disaster funding. Specifically, the declaration says only that it will suspend a county law prohibiting landfills from accepting tires, which have been targeted as prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

It appears that policy has already been in effect since mid-November, when all 22 of the county’s transfer stations began accepting tires from the public.

Kenoi could not be reached for comment, but in a phone interview Monday afternoon, Oliveira said the mayor’s declaration would serve to continue to spread the message of the “Fight the Bite” campaign, which asks Hawaii Island residents to mitigate mosquito-friendly conditions around their homes, and to avoid being bitten by wearing long sleeves, pants and insect repellent when visiting areas known to be infested with mosquitoes.

“We’re not going to react in any way differently,” he said. “One thing is, it continues to communicate to the general population that the mayor takes this very seriously.”

Oliveira added that the declaration was not a result of the county’s inability to handle the outbreak. Rather, the decision was made proactively to “set in place procedures” that could be necessary in the coming months.

Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.