An adult couple who had previous close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 on the mainland have themselves tested positive for the new coronavirus disease while spending nearly two weeks vacationing in Hawaii, Gov. David Ige said Saturday.

The two have shown signs of improvement and are being isolated at a Kauai County-provided unit, Ige said during a news conference.

The couple were seen at several urgent care facilities and a hospital.

“We are aware that three healthcare workers who treated them were not wearing appropriate personal protective devices so we have contacted them,” Ige said. Those workers are now self-isolating.

Ige said officials were working through the couple’s itinerary to see who they might have come in contact with them and will inform those who did.

The couple flew on a direct United Airlines flight from the mainland to Maui and spent March 2-8 at hotel in Lahaina, Ige said.

Shortly after arrival, one of the two developed a fever, cough and shortness of breath. On March 4, that person went to an urgent care facility and was given a rapid flu test. The results came back negative.

That same day, the other person also began feeling ill. Three days later, that person also went to an urgent care facility.

On March 8, the tourists whose home state was not disclosed flew from Maui to Kauai on Hawaiian Airlines flight 149. The couple stayed at the Kauai Marriott from March 9-13.

The person who became ill first went to an urgent care on Kauai on March 9, and was prescribed antibiotics. Three days later, they went to a hospital in Lihue, where they disclosed they had an earlier close contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19. Officials did not disclose where that contact took place, other than saying it was on the mainland.

The two were tested on Thursday, and the positive results came back Friday.

Ige said both have improved and do not need hospitalization. They are being kept at the county-provided isolation unit.

He said the state was working to set up similar isolation units in each county so tourists would have a place to go if they needed to isolate.

These are the state's third and fourth cases of the new coronavirus.

The state's first case was confirmed in a man who had been on a cruise ship from California to Mexico that had other infected passengers. The man fell ill after flying home to Oahu from Mexico after the Grand Princess cruise that was scheduled Feb. 11-21.

The state’s second case was an elderly man who became ill while he was in Washington state. He was tested upon his return to Hawaii.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. More than 80,000 people in China have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. More than 65,000 have recovered.

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Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.

News from © The Associated Press, 2020