Maui Coronavirus Updates

Mayor Michael Victorino issued a statement last night, strongly opposing two proposed amendments by the County Council’s Governance, Ethics and Transparency Committee, calling the items “reckless.” Meantime, council members defended their proposals with one member calling the Mayor’s statements “overly dramatic.”

There are nine new COVID-19 case reported for Hawaiʻi today–six on the island of Oʻahu, two on Maui and one in a resident diagnosed outside of Hawaiʻi–bringing the statewide count to 926 cases in Hawaiʻi over the course of the pandemic. To date, 741 people (81.6%) have recovered including 114 (95.7%) recovery in Maui County. There are currently 167 active cases in the state, including five on Maui.

The interim guidelines cover multiple aspects of operations, and each of the 10 campuses will develop their own operational plans that take into consideration their unique location, facilities, programs needs and available resources. The first day of classes for the fall 2020 semester is Monday, August 24.

The state’s mandatory interisland travel and health form can now be submitted online within 24 hours of flight departure. State officials say this upgrade adds efficiency to the passenger verification process, helps save travelers time and allows information to enter the database in real-time. The form includes health and contact information needed to trace close contacts should a passenger become ill.

Hawaiian Airlines today announced it will resume a reduced schedule between Hawaiʻi and most of its US mainland gateway cities on Aug. 1, when the state of Hawai‘i begins welcoming travelers who choose to participate in a pre-travel COVID-19 testing program being developed.

The launch comes ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend as police implement sobriety checkpoints and other units continue to enforce COVID-related safety measures.

County officials say the checkpoint will remain in place for today while they await the governor’s response. Lawmakers continue to work on a traffic management plan for the Hāna Highway and are proposing a reservation system for key destinations along the highway like Waiʻānapanapa State Park, to mitigate traffic concerns in the rural community.

The County of Maui announced a summer youth program in partnership with Maui Family YMCA that begins next Monday, July 6, 2020.  

There are 18 new COVID-19 case reported for Hawaiʻi today–15 on the island of Oʻahu, one each on Maui and Kauaʻi and one case pending identification of island residency–bringing the statewide count to 917 cases in Hawaiʻi over the course of the pandemic. To date, 736 people (81.8%) have recovered including 113 (96.5%) recovery in Maui County. There are currently 163 active cases in the state, including four on Maui. As a result of updated information, one case from Oʻahu was removed from the counts, according to the State Department of Health.  

One resident was doing carpentry work at the home of an elderly woman. State officials say the woman, who is in a high-risk category, “was incensed” upon learning the man was being arrested for quarantine violation.

The closure includes: the Mill House Restaurant, Mill House Resting Café, the Rolling Mill Food Truck, Maui Chef’s Table and the Plantation grounds. The Plantation looks forward to reopening in the future, but does not have a specific projected date in mind.

The Expeditions Lānaʻi Ferry announced updated COVID-19 rules and changes that take effect immediately, limiting the amount of unescorted freight that will be allowed on each trip from Lahaina and Lānaʻi.

Earlier this month, the FTA awarded over $7 million through the CARES Act to the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation on behalf of MauiBus through its Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula fund.

Hawaiʻi residents who are turning 65 and be eligible for Medicare or people who are 65+ and about to retire or lose employer medical coverage, or anyone planning for early retirement and want to learn more about how Medicare works, what it covers, when to enroll and how to avoid late enrollment penalties can benefit from these exclusive “Medicare 101” workshops.

This bill would provide internet-connected devices and $50 a month toward broadband access to workers who were laid off or furloughed during the pandemic as well as others in need.

According to the Pacific Media Workers Guild, a total of 12 journalists represented by the union have agreed to be laid off. The remainder will take unpaid furloughs totaling six weeks each between now and Feb. 28, the end of the fiscal year.

Hawaiian Electric will extend the moratorium on disconnections for nonpayment through Sept. 1, and urges customers who are having difficulty paying their bill to contact the company well before September to consider payment options.

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino announced today that the County of Maui will be extending its waiver of credit card convenience fees for online payments of County bills and self-service (kiosks) for motor vehicle registration renewals.

“This change in rules is effective immediately and allows commercial and recreational boats, with a rated US Coast Guard capacity of more than ten, to not exceed their rated capacity by no more than 50 percent, provided they operating under the Boating and Ocean Recreation COVID-19 guidelines,” said DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood.

The Department of Parks and Recreation announced that, in observance of the July 4th holiday, the pool reservations phone line will not take calls on Friday, July 3. All County pools will be closed on July 4 and will reopen July 5.