Readthe full text of the Governor’s sixth supplementary proclamation, which effectively extends the state’s stay-at-home orders through May 31st and extends the state’s 14-day mandatory travel quarantine through the end of May.

Gov. Ige has extended the 14-day mandatory travel quarantine for people arriving in the state and the stay-at-home order until May 31, 2020.  The proclamation also notes that people can now run or walk on state beaches for exercise.

As of noon on Saturday, April 25, 2020, there are 604 cases of COVID-19 identified in Hawaiʻi with 3 new cases. Maui County’s count was revised downward by one case by officials with the state Department of Health for a total of 112 confirmed positive. Of the 112 cases in Maui County, at least 73 have been released from isolation, and 13 have required hospitalization.

YB may supplement service from Moloka‘i as needed with an occasional stopover on Wednesday morning as the Kawaihae barge returns to the port of Honolulu. The service is intended to facilitate the timely transport of fresh produce from Moloka‘i to the neighboring islands and support the farming and agriculture industries. The occasional Kawaihae/Kaunakakai stopover will allow fresh produce from Moloka‘i to reach the neighbor-island markets.

Additional food drives run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. today (Saturday, April 25) at Hope Chapel in Kīhei and AutoZone in Kahului across from the Kahului Post Office.

Overcrowding was named as a likely source of last year’s jail riot and nearly a year after the incident, on March 2, the jail was nearly 50% overcapacity with 450 inmates.  Today that number is just under 2% overcapacity.  The inmate population at the Maui Community Correctional Center has dropped by 143 inmates to 307 over a 7 week period. The MCCC operational capacity is for 301 inmates.  

For a second day this week, Maui County had no trans-Pacific flights (domestic flights) from the mainland on Thursday. Only Delta Airlines is flying from Los Angeles to Kahului-Maui, Kona-Hawaiʻi and Līhuʻe-Kauaʻi 3 to 4 times a week.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announced that between April 17 to April 23 it distributed $68,097,470 in unemployment insurance benefits.

All information will also be provided to counties to check if the address is a vacation rental. State officials say, “This is a warning to all vacation rentals in the state to stop accepting visitor reservations. The government will have their address and they will be subject to enforcement for operating illegally. A list of suspected illegal short-term rental sites will be provided to the appropriate county.”

End Of Day COVID-19 Recap for Maui: Young Brothers Seeks Reduced Service, Decision on Emergency Rules Pushed to Next Week. Young Brothers has reportedly announced a request to reduce stops in Maui County.  Managing Director Sandy Baz confirmed the news this afternoon during a press briefing saying the county has been in communication with the company.  

Maui Managing Director Sandy Baz provided an update on the COVID-19 response in Maui County today.  For a complete written recap and end of day highlights click here. 

The Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 has raised several proposed policies and procedures that Sen. Kouchi said, “should be instituted immediately for visitors upon arrival in Hawaiʻi.” This includes proposed policies on:  health screening; identification and verification of accommodations; supervised transportation to their accommodations; and establishing monitoring and enforcement protocols.

Today’s guest is Dr. David Ulin, Chief Medical Director, Maui Health.  In his interview, Dr. Ulin discussed survivability of the virus on surfaces, blood plasma donations and how long social distancing will last.

Maui County has one new case for a total of 113 confirmed positive. Of the 113 cases in Maui County, at least 65 have been released from isolation, and 12 have required hospitalization. The state also recorded its 13th and 14th COVID-19 linked deaths today.  Both were O‘ahu men who were over the age of 65 and had underlying health conditions.  One individual had been hospitalized since the beginning of April and had a travel history to Las Vegas in March.  Health officials say the infection in the other individual was the result of community-associated spread.

One is an O‘ahu man who had been hospitalized since the beginning of April, was over 65-years-old, and had underlying medical conditions. He had a history of travel to Las Vegas in March. The other is also an O‘ahu man, over 65-years-old, who’d also been hospitalized recently and also had underlying health conditions. His infection was the result of community-associated spread.

Thursday’s guest was Dr. Lee Weiss, Regional Director of Emergency Medical Services.  In his interview, Dr. Weiss discussed hospitalizations, testing, and how life will be after the curve is flattened. “Everybody’s in the same boat.  Everybody has to pull the boat forward.  We all have to go in the same direction which is health, safety for ourselves and our families and our communities.  I think Maui can do this better than anywhere else because of the way people treat one another on Maui, because of the community spirit on Maui I believe Maui can really make this happen.”

Pacific Media Group and Hawaii News Now Present “Hale to Hale: A Concert for Hawaii’s Healthcare Heroes” on Monday, April 27, 2020. All of the musicians are participating from their homes while observing social distancing guidelines, to provide entertainment relief and celebrate the heroism of Hawaiʻi’s healthcare workers during this pandemic.

In order to begin relaxing restrictions in response to the pandemic, DOH and HIEMA say there must be a trend of: at least two weeks of a low number of new cases, a robust testing and surveillance system, a reliable contact tracing system, and a ready supply of medical supplies and hospital capacity. Any reopening will likely be incremental.

Mayor Michael Victorino says there’s a strong possibility that the stay-from-home, work-from-home order will continue.  He said the county may extend the Public Health Emergency Rules to the end of May.  An official announcement is due out late this week or early next week.

LIVE STREAM: Maui Mayor COVID-19 Daily Update, April 23, 2020