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The Hawai‘i State Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 will convene today at 2 p.m. to assess and advise the Senate on the re-opening of schools.

There are 19 new COVID-19 cases reported for Hawaiʻi today, including–16 new cases on the island of Oʻahu, and three new cases where island residency is pending identification.  This brings the statewide count to 1,311 cases in Hawaiʻi over the course of the pandemic. To date, 975 people (75.6%) have recovered including 120 (93%) recovery in Maui County. There are currently 314 active cases in the state, including nine on Maui. As of July 14 at 4:30 p.m., there were 31 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi.

The thermal temperature screening equipment will be installed immediately at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Kahului Airport, Līhuʻe Airport, Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole and Hilo International Airport. Phase 3 expects to have the facial imaging equipment installed by Dec. 31, 2020.

The Hawaiʻi Emergency Laulima Partnership program or H.E.L.P. has announced a second round of funding available as financial assistance for Maui County residents to pay for essential needs due to a layoff, reduction in hours or loss of income related to COVID-19.

The latest list was updated on July 10, 2020; however, three days later, the governor announced plans to move back the state’s pre-travel testing program to Sept. 1.  Many hotels had planned to reopen on Aug. 1, however those dates may be revised to adjust to the governor’s announcement.

From July 24-31, LINEAGE is open for takeout only from 4 to 8 p.m. Beginning Aug. 1, it will be open for takeout and dine-in services from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; and from 4 to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Limited seating is available to accommodate social distancing measures, so reservations are highly recommended.

“We have not had a positive patient with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital for over 70 days–that’s over two months… As of this morning, our census is only 77%.  All together, we have 31 ICU beds and our capacity right now–we have 17 occupied and 12 available… We are licensed for 219 beds and we have a plan that can increase our capacity to 300 patients a day,” said Maui Health CEO Mike Rembis.

The racketeering activity allegedly included “acts involving murder, kidnapping, arson and robbery.” The allegations further include “acts relating to murder-for-hire, chemical weapons, extortionate credit transactions, racketeering, interference with commerce through robbery and extortion, drug trafficking, wire fraud, fraud in connection with identification documents, financial institution fraud, the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, money laundering and obstruction of justice.”

The contributions were collected on six consecutive Fridays in May and June. On those days, the Wailea Golf Club had pledged to make a cash donation for every paid round and gave merchandise discounts to customers who donated nonperishable food donations.

The Hāna Highway checkpoint will be terminated when the extended closure expires at the end of today, according to Maui Mayor Michael Victorino. According to the Mayor, the checkpoints at both Twin Falls and ʻUlupalakua Ranch will not have National Guard or Maui Police Department presence starting tomorrow.

A drive-through COVID-19 testing event will be held on Wednesday, July 22, at Keōpūolani Park in Kahului. Testing will be administered by Minit Medical Urgent Care from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

There are 29 new COVID-19 cases reported for Hawaiʻi today, including–27 new cases on the island of Oʻahu, and two new cases on Hawaiʻi Island.  This brings the statewide count to 1,292 cases in Hawaiʻi over the course of the pandemic.  To date, 951 people (74.8%) have recovered including 120 (93%) recovery in Maui County. There are currently 319 active cases in the state, including nine on Maui.

“Central to the survival of tenants and property owners alike is the fact that counties continue to collect property taxes in full, resulting in a domino effect of landlords needing to cover their expenses from small businesses’ occupancy,” according to Island Business Management, LLC, one of the survey partners.

A second survey geared toward understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hawaiʻi’s businesses is taking place. Results from the first survey, conducted in April 2020 revealed the hardest hit industries were accommodations (hotels), down 83 percent in full-time employee reductions, and retail businesses, down 76 percent.  

University of Hawai’i Maui College hosts the first in a series of virtual Open Houses via ZOOM today. The Open Houses will be held on Wednesdays, July 15, July 22, and July 29 at 5 pm.  Here’s how to participate:

Former UH-Maui College dormitory buildings were blessed Tuesday morning for Huliau, a project to make safe housing available for people who’ve fallen into homelessness. “Huliau” means “turning point, time of change.”

There are 22 new COVID-19 cases reported for Hawaiʻi today, including–19 new cases on the island of Oʻahu, and three new cases on Hawaiʻi Island.  This brings the statewide count to 1,264 cases in Hawaiʻi over the course of the pandemic. The state Department of Health also reports that as a result of updated information, one case from Honolulu was removed from the counts.

The Maui Vacation Rental Association along with four homeowners on Molokaʻi filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday against the County of Maui seeking to reinstate their permits to operate as Short-Term Vacation Rentals.

Da Kitchen is closing its Kahului location on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 after 20 years in business.  The announcement came in the form of a company Facebook post on Monday evening and was confirmed via phone call to store managers. The restaurant is known for signature dishes that include the “Deep Fried Spam Musubi,” and its Mocos and Bowls that include the “Polynesian Paralysis Moco,” and the “Kanak Attack Combo Moco.” The Kahului location employs at least 10 staff for front-of-house operations in Kahului.

Maui fire crews are responding to a brush fire in the area of Piʻihana Road in the Happy Valley area of Wailuku. Crews are on scene.