The Hawaii Department of Health on Thursday cited the private operator of a state veterans nursing home for deficiencies leading to a COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year in which 27 residents died.

The agency also ordered the administrator of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo to implement a list of corrective actions, but then on Friday rescinded both the order and the citation that listed deficiencies in complying with statutory health care regulations mainly related to infection control.

Janice Okubo, DOH spokeswoman, said the rescission was made at the request of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “to ensure that (the documents) are fully supported in the event of an appeal.”

Avalon Health Care, the nursing home’s Utah-based operator, responded to the DOH on Thursday to say it is not admitting fault but that it has taken several immediate actions.

Those actions include re-educating the facility’s