(AP) — A review of Hawaiʻi Gov. David Ige’s emails shows the state epidemiologist spent key weeks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic resisting suggestions and requests that she boost contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19. They also showed Dr. Sarah Park repeatedly telling her superiors that the state’s failure to adequately fund the division she headed was preventing her from quickly expanding their work to respond to the crisis. The Associated Press obtained the emails last month in response to a May 2020 request submitted under Hawaiʻi’s open records law.

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