Until recently, the Marshall Islands had been largely spared of COVID-19 cases. Now, the remote nation is grappling with its first significant outbreak, which began in the capital city of Majuro and has spread to at least eight of its outer islands.

In the past 2-1/2 weeks, the count of confirmed coronavirus cases has soared to 14,250, with 15 deaths, according to the World Health Organization’s website. In response to the outbreak, efforts are underway in Hawaii to provide the Marshall Islands with supplies to help protect public health.

The Hospital Association of Hawaii is donating five pallets of supplies, including about 100,000 gloves and numerous boxes of protective suits. The supplies will be flown to the Marshall Islands by United Airlines, free of cost. The donations are expected to help about 40,000 residents and health care workers, said Isabela Silk, Marshall Islands consul general.

Also, Hawaii’s Marshallese community is pitching in with additional personal protective equipment and supplies, which will be sent with the HAH donation, Silk said.

Earlier this month, Romaldo Kabua, a member of the Marshallese Community Organization of Hawaii, alerted state Sen. Glenn Wakai about the outbreak. Wakai, who also serves as Hawaii’s honorary consul for Palau, has since been coordinating donation efforts. He estimates that the supplies will arrive in the Marshall Islands sometime next week.

“When we were in the throes of the pandemic back in February and March of 2020 … we were just at the mercy of having others help us,” Wakai said. “It seems natural that now … Hawaii helps those who are where we were two years ago.”

On Friday, Wakai met with Silk, Kabua and others at a warehouse in Halawa where the contributions are stored. Presenting HAH representatives with shell lei, Kabua said, “On behalf of the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the MCOH (Marshallese Community Organization of Hawaii), I want to thank you for your generous contribution in a time of need for the islands.”

Some Marshallese families in Hawaii have already been sending supplies such as masks and over-the-counter pain relief medicine, such as acetaminophen, through local post offices, Silk said. “You couldn’t really find masks in the stores there,” she said, adding, “And if you do, it’s quite expensive.”

The price tag for mailing supplies to the Marshall Islands from Hawaii is also steep, Silk said, noting that her office sent out 10 boxes of PPE on Friday, which cost almost $700 in postal charges.

More supplies will likely be sent by way of ocean freight, said Jendrick Paul, MCOH’s executive director. “The response has been tremendous from the community,” Paul said. “There’s so many (donations), that we’re going to be putting them on a pallet. Things like hand sanitizer, that cannot go on air freight.”

Paul said the local response has been successful, in part, because many Marshallese in Hawaii still have family members in the Marshall Islands. MCOH has also heard from communities in Oregon, Los Angeles and Arizona that have plans to send donations, although it is uncertain when those would arrive, Paul said.

While the number of COVID-19 cases has started to decline, Silk said, there are increasing reports of flu-like symptoms on the outer islands, signaling a need for continued vigilance.

Anyone wanting to donate PPE supplies can do so by dropping them off at the headquarters for the consul general of the Marshall Islands, 1888 Lusitana St. For more information about donations, call the Marshallese Community Organization of Hawaii at 808-854-8744.

Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.