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The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is seeking approval to modify high school graduation and commencement requirements asking for flexibility in awarding a diploma or certificate to graduating seniors, based on approval from individual school administrations.

LIVE: Mayor Victorino COVID-19 Update, March 27, 2 p.m.: “Most of the facilities that we looked at were private and they’ve asked for anonymity at this time,” said Mayor Victorino, noting that the two public facilities being considered on Maui are the War Memorial Gymnasium and the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center, both in Wailuku. “Beyond that, the rest of the seven other sites are private,” said Mayor Victorino.

As of noon on Friday, March 27, 2020, the state total count of positive coronavirus cases was 120, including 9 new cases on Oʻahu; two new cases each on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island; and one new case that is pending residency determination.  Maui’s island count is now 16.

Maui had a total of 136 passengers arriving on the Valley Isle, including 81 crew members, 44 residents and 11 visitors, according to new numbers compiled by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Association. 

The church is among the many religious sites and congregations that have transitioned to online services as they seek creative alternatives amid stay-at-home orders and social distancing precautions.

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino provides an update in an on-air interview with Pacific Media Group’s KPOA 93.5 FM.  Shane Kahalehau gets the latest information affecting Maui County and some advice from the Mayor on how the public is navigating the recently implemented county and state stay-at-home orders.  

At Maui Memorial Medical Center, there are 24 ventilators out of 561 statewide.  Across the state, there were 78 ventilators in use on Wednesday out of 431 ventilators that were activated.

“Temporarily releasing inmates or suspending jail sentences could create risks of harm to victims and other persons in the community,” said Attorney General Clare E. Connors

The US Army Corps of Engineers in Hawaiʻi is moving forward with a FEMA mission to look at buildings across the state that could be quickly converted to alternate care facilities if medical needs outpace the current facilities available, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 162 samples were taken over the course of two days at the drive-through testing site, earlier this week. Monday’s drive-through testing, which will have 100 test kits, is a collaboration between the Hawaiʻi Department of Health Maui District Health Office, the County of Maui, Kaiser Clinics, Maui Memorial Medical Center and Clinical Labs of Hawaiʻi.

As of noon on Thursday, March 26, 2020, the state total count of positive coronavirus cases was 106, including 8 new cases on Oʻahu; one new case on Maui; and two cases of residents of the state of Hawaiʻi who were diagnosed outside of the state.  Maui’s island count is now 14.

Two Maui companies are joining the fight against COVID-19 by teaming up to produce hand sanitizer in order to best support those on the front lines of the pandemic. Pau Maui Vodka and Maui Gold Pineapple are focusing on maximizing impact by providing sanitizer directly to healthcare workers, government employees and community entities. The companies have produced their first run of hand sanitizer which will be available by the end of the week.

The data shows there were 4,131 arrivals in the state on Tuesday, March 24.  The majority, 3,334 were to the island of Oʻahu. While neighbor island totals were not provided, the remaining arrivals within the state (outside of Oʻahu) totaled 797 passengers. 

Funds made available by the first emergency relief bill that passed in Congress are now being allocated to Hawai‘i, including over $750,000 granted to 14 community health centers across the state.  

This wide-ranging legislation will inject $2 trillion into boosting funding to our medical system, providing economic support to workers, small businesses, and state and local governments that are bearing the brunt of the necessary but difficult measures being put in place to combat the coronavirus.

The percentage drop of arriving passengers is down 87 percent from the same period last year (4,131 arriving passengers as of 3-24-20 compared to 32,330 on the same day in 2019).

He said the $2 trillion legislative package will help with jobs and families.  “The Senate bill as you know includes $350 billion in job retention loans for small businesses, with loan forgiveness available for businesses that continue paying their workers,” said President Trump. 

As of noon on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, the state total count of positive coronavirus cases was 95, including 4 new cases on Oʻahu; and one new case each on Maui and Kauaʻi.  Maui’s island count is now 13.  

The list of hotels around Maui and across the state are rolling out plans to address the reduced visitor load and mass cancellations as mandatory quarantines for arriving travelers, and newly implemented stay-at-home orders go into effect.  The newly announced temporary suspension of operations are a result of actions being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 and avoid overburdening limited medical resources. 

Grand Wailea is preparing care packages for employees and the community, including Feed My Sheep and the Maui Food Bank, using the hotel’s perishable food stock. The hotel’s current inventory of toilet paper is being shared with team members.