Maui Coronavirus Updates

Hawaiʻi Governor David Ige today said that the 14-day travel quarantine will be extended for domestic and international travelers past June 30, but an official announcement will be made at a later date.

As the 2019-20 school year comes to an end today for students, HIDOE’s Grab-and-Go program will transition to a summer meals program. An updated list of HIDOE sites and start dates is available here. It also includes sites that will stop serving meals as of tomorrow. 

Live Stream: Governor Ige and all four county mayors discuss the reopening of businesses and activities in their respective counties.

Hawaiʻi’s COVID-19 case count increased by three to 647, with all new cases reported today coming from the island of Oʻahu. To date, 604 people (95.8%) have recovered including 106 in Maui County. There are currently 26 active cases in the state.

According to the TSA: “If your driver’s license or state-issued ID expired on or after March 1, 2020, and you are unable to renew at your state driver’s license agency, you may still use it as acceptable identification at the checkpoint. TSA will accept expired driver’s licenses or state-issued ID a year after expiration.” (See https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus, accessed on May 27, 2020).

In April, total visitor days decreased 99.3 percent from a year ago. On Maui, there were 647 visitors in April 2020 versus 248,042 visitors a year ago. Year-to-date, Maui arrivals dropped 38.4 percent to 603,835 visitors.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is warning consumers about attempts made by criminals to file imposter claims in order to receive unemployment benefits.

The 2020 Inaugural Makawao 4th of July Stampede rodeo and 55th Annual Makawao Parade are canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns.  

“It’s still safer to be at home.  The lockdown is not finished, but we’re acting prudently.  We’re ‘acting with care’ right now. And we want people to know that we don’t believe you should stay home 100% of the time; and as you get back to work, and you get back to the new norm that we talk about, you can enjoy life but be prudent and be careful.”

The reduction in force from 200 individuals last week to around 100 individuals next week has already started. Mayor Victorino said troops will continue to man the checkpoint along the Hāna Highway, which was put in place to restrict traffic to residential motorists only in an effort to protect one of Maui’s rural communities from infection. 

Hawaiʻi’s COVID-19 case count increased by one to 644, with a single new case reported on Hawaiʻi Island.  To date, 600 people (95.6%) have recovered including 106 in Maui County. There are currently 27 active cases in the state.

US Senator Mazie Hirono discussed her advocacy for national testing, federal funding of the US Postal Service, distribution of CARES Act Funding and the impacts of lost tourism in the islands.  The information was shared in a series of interviews with Pacific Media Group radio stations KPOA 93.5 FM and 99.9 KISS FM Maui earlier today. 

Vacation rentals in Maui County saw a -74.7 percent decrease in occupancy to 3.8 percent in April, as county officials across the state announced rules deeming the short-term vacation rentals as non-essential. 

Hospital representatives say it’s too soon in the process to determine a source of the infection but have stated that the case is not related to the hospital cluster of 52 individuals that was deemed closed on May 19.  

Produce distribution for the general public will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., or until supplies run out, in the County parking lotlocated between the County gym and school cafeteria.

Maui Maui Mayor Michael Victorino is awaiting the governor’s approval for an earlier reopening date of June 1st for many businesses and services in Maui County.

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino called Young Brothers the “lifeline for the state of Hawai‘i.”  He continued saying, “The neighbor islands depend on Young Brothers tremendously.  Some of us do not have big harbors that could bring in larger ships to off load, and so we depend on Young Brothers to bring in almost 90% of all the produce, all of our food and other necessities that this county, this island, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi exist off of.”

The new guidance includes cleaning, sanitation and safety measures; child and parent expectations; employee support; physical distancing; limiting childcare groups to nine, plus one staff member; room dividers; staggered meal times; health and safety temperature checks; face masks; physical distancing to the extent possible; and facility safety (ventilation systems; trained backup staff; and protocols). 

The National Park Service today announced that it will begin increasing public access to Haleakalā National Park on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Sunrise or sunset viewing is not available at this time.

The event was originally scheduled for Saturday, March 28, and was tentatively postponed to June pending community impacts of the ongoing COVID-19; however with ongoing concerns, organizers decided to cancel the event.