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Pre-travel testing program likely to be delayed beyond Oct. 1. It’s likely that the 14-day mandatory quarantine for all passengers arriving to Hawaii will remain in place beyond Oct. 1, Gov. David Ige said Monday. Pacific Business News.
Ige says loosening of restrictions on travel unlikely by end of this month. State restrictions on travel to Hawaii are unlikely to be loosened by Oct. 1, Gov. David Ige said Monday. Tribune-Herald.
Out-of-State Travel Quarantine Likely to be Extended. Out-of-state travelers will likely remain subject to quarantine restrictions beyond Oct. 1. Big Island Now.
Governor Ige says tourism’s return October 1 is unlikely, pilot programs could come first. Governor David Ige said Monday that it is unlikely that trans-Pacific travel will reopen without the state’s mandatory 14-day travel quarantine before the tentatively scheduled date of Oct. 1. KHON2.
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State adding 25 more contact tracers this week to help track COVID-19 cases. There are currently 256 contact tracers on-the-job in Hawaii. KITV4.
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Can Military Spending Prop Up Hawaii’s Faltering Economy? As tourism crumbles and tensions escalate between the U.S. and China, the military’s economic role in the islands could become more prominent. Civil Beat.
Jobless claims increasing. Initial unemployment claims are again on the rise statewide, a University of Hawaii economist told the House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness. Tribune-Herald.
Economic woes widen as governor prepares to delay Hawaii’s reopening again. Gov. David Ige said Monday that he’s likely to delay for the third time the start of a pre-arrivals testing program to reopen tourism in Hawaii. Star-Advertiser.
Economist: Hawaii’s Economic Fall Will Be Worse Than Predicted. Researchers are starting to get more data on just how the extended closure of Hawaii’s tourism industry has impacted the economy. Civil Beat.
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2 Senate Staffers Test Positive For COVID-19. The Senate president says social distancing and other protocols were observed and the risk of spread remains low. Civil Beat.
DOH Names Care Homes Affected by COVID-19. A new list doesn’t include case numbers and is not as comprehensive as advocates would like. Civil Beat.
More than 6,000 have applied for rent relief. A new state program providing $100 million of rental assistance to struggling tenants has been wildly popular since being established last week. Tribune-Herald.
Former DLIR Director Scott Murakami takes job at DBEDT. The former head of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, who resigned from his post in August after being on paid leave for two months, has resurfaced at another state agency. Star-Advertiser.
‘Equity Specialists’ Are Reviewing Hawaii DOE’s Problematic Online Learning Program. The state Board of Education is scheduled to take up the issue at its meeting Thursday as parents’ complaints over culturally insensitive content continue. Civil Beat.
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VIRUS TRACKER — Sept. 14: 80 New COVID-19 Cases In Hawaii. Since March, 635 people with the virus have been hospitalized. Civil Beat.
Hawaii health officials report 80 new coronavirus infections statewide. Hawaii Department of Health officials today reported 80 new infections statewide, bringing the state’s totals since the beginning of the pandemic to 10,779 COVID-19 cases. Star-Advertiser.
Oahu
Mayor pledges to ease restrictions on retailers, gatherings starting next week. Facing criticism of his stay-at-home order as COVID-19 infections drop on Oahu, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Monday said he’s hoping to relax some rules next week. Hawaii News Now.
It’s been about three weeks since Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced a second stay-at-home order for Oahu. Since then there has been confusion over what businesses are considered essential and can stay open versus the non-essential stores that must stay shuttered. KHON2.
Oahu retailers get ready to reopen. Honolulu’s mayor said Monday if the drop in cases continue, the lock down won’t be extended. Hawaii News Now.
HPD issues thousands of citations over the weekend. Honolulu Police officers issued approximately 2,700 citations over the weekend for emergency order violations. KHON2.
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Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell says Oahu surge testing successful; more than 60K tested in 2 weeks. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell declared Oahu’s mass surge testing effort a success, with more than 60,000 people tested for COVID-19 over the past 14 days. Star-Advertiser.
Surge Testing Program Is Showing How To Control The Coronavirus On Oahu. Preliminary results of a federal coronavirus surge testing drive on Oahu indicate that the infection’s spread is concentrated in certain communities. Civil Beat.
Positive rates likely to rise with fewer COVID-19 tests. Now that COVID-19 surge testing on Oahu is finished after a nearly three-week run, one key metric to monitoring the severity of the pandemic in Hawaii might get worse. Star-Advertiser.
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Homeless shelter reopens following COVID-19 outbreak, but with fewer beds. One of Oahu’s largest homeless shelters is back open after a COVID-19 outbreak prompted health officials to shut it down last month and use it as a quarantine facility. Hawaii News Now.
Plan to upgrade, expand West Loch munitions annex has neighbors on edge. A draft environmental assessment describes a new Army munitions storage complex at the Navy’s West Loch Annex within Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Star-Advertiser.
Park Service seeks to replace Pearl Harbor shore-side floating dock. The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a proposed project to replace the deteriorating shore-side floating dock and anchoring system at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial Visitor Center. Star-Advertiser.
Hawaii Island
Kim: VA team to investigate Hilo veterans home. Mayor Harry Kim said a team from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will arrive later this week to investigate the situation at Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home and make changes to better manage a deadly COVID-19 outbreak there. Tribune-Herald.
13th coronavirus fatality reported at Hilo veterans home as more federal aid pledged. A Hilo veterans home scrambling to contain a COVID-19 outbreak saw its 13th coronavirus fatality Monday. Hawaii News Now.
HOPE Services returns no positive tests. All 98 HOPE Services shelter residents and staff tested last week for COVID-19 have received negative results, the organization announced Monday. West Hawaii Today.
These Big Island Residents Are Trying To Keep Remote Beaches Safe And Sanitary. Illegal campers are flocking to beaches that have no county police to enforce shutdown orders. Civil Beat.
Maui
Maui County Council approves 2 affordable housing projects. Two affordable housing projects slated for South Maui got the green light from the Maui County Council on Friday afternoon. Maui News.
Hawaiian Language Keyboard Developed by UH Maui Professor is Released by Google. University of Hawai‘i Maui College Assistant Professor Dr. Keola Donaghy has developed and Google has just released a Hawaiian language keyboard extension for users of the Chome OS operating system. Maui Now.
Mayor Interview: Team to Meet with Poi By The Pound. Mayor Victorino’s team is meeting with the Poi By The Pound restaurant today. Earlier this month, the local eatery had announced its planned closure on Sept. 11, amid the ongoing pandemic. Maui Now.
Condo listings, prices jump in August. Single-family home inventory and costs decline from 2019. New listings for condominium units on Maui last month skyrocketed 97 percent in year-over-year data, according to the latest Realtors Association of Maui report. Maui News.
Kauai
State to approve Kaua‘i resort bubble. Gov. David Ige is set to approve a voluntary “Resort Bubble” program on Kaua‘i in the hopes to bring tourism revenue back to the county this week. Garden Island.
Council discusses additional agriculture usages. Noting the impacts of the on-going coronavirus pandemic on farmers and ranchers, the Kaua‘i County Council is looking at a number of additional revenue options residents can utilize on agricultural land. Garden Island.
Molokai
Search intensifies for quarantine sites on Molokai as number of active cases grows to 13. There are now 13 active cases of COVID-19 on Molokai. And that has state and county leaders scrambling to find a quarantine location. Hawaii News Now.