Maui Discussion

Effective immediately, Hawaiʻi’s mask mandate has been lifted for outdoors, but remains in place for indoors. When outdoors, people are still encouraged to mask up when in large groups of 10 people or more.

The 98th Maui Fair is canceled again this year due to ongoing public health concerns related to the continued presence of COVID-19 in the community.

Cushman & Wakefield announced today the firm has been hired to sell two residential and commercial sites totaling approximately 458 acres within the Maui Lani master planned community in Kahului on Maui.

Governor David Ige today said he will continue to maintain the mask mandate here in Hawaiʻi even though the CDC has loosened its mask recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals.

“Tardigrades are famous as one of the most resistant life forms in existence,” says Gon. “They can enter suspended animation in cyst form when their environment dries—and in that form survive incredible conditions such as hard vacuum, radiation, and extremes of temperature—then ‘come back to life’ when placed in water.”

Former University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan has died, according to multiple media reports. Brennan was 37-year-old.

Maui County’s new post-arrival testing program for unvaccinated trans-Pacific arrivals from the continental US debuted today (May 4, 2021), with hundreds of travelers undergoing rapid COVID-19 testing at Kahului Airport.

What you need to know about Maui Post-Arrival Testing and Inter-County Travel: Requirements differ between trans-Pacific travelers and those who are in Hawaiʻi and plan to travel to Maui from another county.

Beginning May 11, fully vaccinated travelers who received their vaccine in Hawaiʻi may travel inter-county (Kauaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi) without having to take a pre-travel test or quarantining for 10 days. The announcement was made by Gov. David Ige during an afternoon press briefing.

Individuals who are fully vaccinated in Hawaiʻi may soon get the opportunity to travel inter-island without having to take a pre-travel COVID-19 test.

Depending on what Maui’s mayor decides, Maui residents could be in for a lesson that no county ordinance, no matter how well meaning, can overcome the basic rules of economics.

Next year, the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center in Kahului should be celebrating its 50th anniversary, but no one knows if there will be any reason to commemorate the milestone as Maui’s largest mall goes through foreclosure.

Here on Maui, April numbers are exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the same period in 2018 and 2019. The DBEDT preliminary data shows that so far in April, there’s an average of 6,441 passengers arriving daily to Kahului Airport on domestic (including mainland and interisland) flights, up 7.2 percent (433 more passengers) from two years ago in 2019, and up 14 percent (793 more passengers) from three years ago in 2018.

Proposed changes have been approved by the governor for the state’s Safe Travels program in Maui County. Trans-Pacific travelers arriving at Kahului Airport will soon be required to undergo a mandatory secondary COVID-19 rapid test upon arrival, or face a mandatory 10-day quarantine. Mayor Michael Victorino said he had hoped to start the program this […]

“It might have parts of the country first and then add more as they go. It’s hard to peg a date, but it wouldn’t surprise me that by summer we could have this going, and have that as an availability for all the people that want to come to Hawaiʻi,” said Chief Information Officer of the state’s Office of Enterprise Technology Services, Doug Murdock.

Under the program, fully vaccinated individuals, with at least two weeks of incubation since their final vaccination dose, would be able to bypass the state’s 10-day quarantine without having to take a test. The vaccine passport program is proposed for both visitors and returning residents alike, according to Mayor Victorino.

“We are looking at maybe reducing their hours even further if necessary,” said Mayor Victorino during a Friday afternoon press briefing. “But I’m trying to allow time for them to clean up–reestablishing and reevaluating how they’ve been serving the people of Maui County and the visitors alike.”

The mission of the group is to “reclaim their fundamental rights, and take a stand against excessive coronavirus restriction measures.”

Mayor Michael Victorino expressed his disappointment and frustration after receiving the Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s report of 41 new COVID cases in Maui County on Thursday.

Puʻu Ōlaʻi sometimes referred to as “Little Beach” in Mākena State Park on Maui’s south shore, will reopen tomorrow, Saturday, March 13, after being closed for several months.