Mayor Kirk Caldwell expressed displeasure that neither he nor other U.S. mayors were informed directly that the federal government had designated their 11 airports where flights into the country from China are to be funneled as a result of the ongoing concerns about the coronavirus.

And while the state Department of Health is coordinating Hawaii’s response to the situation, Caldwell and key department heads said they nonetheless stand ready to assist.

Caldwell told reporters Friday that he and the mayors of other designated cities spoke via a teleconferencing call Sunday, the day after the federal government made its announcement. “It was just dropped on us. Many of us heard about it through you folks, through the media,” he said.

The federal government “needs to come up with the funds to support the efforts (to combat the coronavirus) should there be money that’s going to be expended should we have a problem,” he said.

Unlike the mayors of most of the other designated cities, Caldwell said he is not responsible for his city’s airport as Daniel K. Inouye International Airport is a state operation.

Should any passengers arriving in Honolulu need to be quarantined, the state Department of Transportation has a contract with privately run AMR to transport them, said Hiro Toiya, the city’s emergency management director.

“The one thing that’s still gray that we still need to resolve is, Can you actually force someone (to be quarantined)?” Caldwell said. “Now there’s police powers, and health and safety, but those need to be worked. And who does the enforcing? The state sheriffs? Is it the Honolulu Police Department or the other police departments on the neighbor islands should we have a case? Those will be worked out and resolved.”

Caldwell held a news conference to issue a proclamation to the Hawai‘i Fujian Business Association, which last week purchased and sent 100,000 masks, and 20,000 pieces of protective clothing for health workers, to the city of Fuzhou, about 100 miles from Wuhan city, which is considered the epicenter of the outbreak.

The masks were obtained from the mainland, association member Eddie Flores Jr. said.

The City and County of Honolulu has a “friendship city” relationship with Fuzhou.