Kalaupapa patients and staff have temporarily left the remote peninsula because of drinking water concerns.
The state Department of Health said a key water pump that supplies the settlement has been having operational problems since the beginning of the month. Attempts to fix it were unsuccessful.
Former Hansen's disease patients who call Kalaupapa home were relocated from the settlement on Friday. They will stay at the Department of Health's Care Home on Oʻahu.
Department of Health staff who work in the settlement, along with National Park Service employees, were asked to leave Kalaupapa over the weekend. Only the staff members working to repair the water system will remain.
“This is a precautionary measure to protect the health and safety of our patients and staff while the drinking water system is repaired,” Dr. Diana Felton, chief of the DOH Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division, said in a press release. “We know that changes to care and living arrangements can be disruptive, and our priority is to ensure patients and staff have a safe and stable place to stay until an adequate and reliable drinking water supply has been restored.”
Repairs are expected to take about two weeks. Everyone will return to Kalaupapa once the drinking water supply has been restored.
