Hawai‘i COVID-19 News Update – July 16, 2021
Aloha,
Here’s the latest COVID-19 news and issues facing Hawai‘i that you need to know this week.
The tourism industry is booming in Hawai‘i, and residents are calling for better management of the state’s top economic driver.
- Eugene Tian, a chief economist for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, says, “Tourism recovered much faster than expected. In June 2021, domestic visitors were 10% more than the June 2019 level, and for the first eight days in July, domestic visitors were 19% more than that in the same period in 2019.”
- Social media posts showing visitors behaving badly are swirling – harassing endangered animals like green sea turtles and monk seals and standing atop the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo.
- State officials are now pushing to revive an old visitor education campaign called the Pono Pledge, which informs visitors of general safety precautions and cultural awareness.
- Lt. Gov. Josh Green told Hawaiʻi News Now, “These large numbers (of visitors) are hard to manage. So we really need tourists to be very mindful when you have a small place, Hawai‘i’s very small ― and (has) a large number of travelers ― you cannot be disrespectful to the host culture.”
- A Civil Beat editorial examines resident’s top priorities for managing tourism responsibly including, regulating illegal vacation rentals, educating visitors to be more respectful of Hawai‘i’s land and culture were key preferences, and controlling congested parks and trails via user fees charged to visitors.
- Meanwhile, the state expanded its partnership with CLEAR to allow all Hawai‘i-bound travelers from every U.S. airport on any airline to utilize the Health Pass app as part of the Safe Travels program. Travelers can use the app to verify their Covid-19 vaccination status or pre-travel testing results.
Hawai‘i’s jobless rate and state bankruptcy cases sink for the fifth straight month, as the islands’ economic recovery continues its momentum.
- According to data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Hawai‘i’s unemployment rate declined in June to a 15-month low of 7.7%, and nonfarm payrolls rose by 3,000 jobs. Just last May, amid the early stages of the pandemic, the state’s unemployment rate was 21.9%.
- Statewide bankruptcy cases also followed this downward trend with a nearly 32% drop in June.
- Eugene Tian, chief economist for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, told the Honolulu Star Advertiser, “Bankruptcies continue to fall mainly due to the following reasons: (1) the continued federal assistance funding; (2) the extension of the mortgage loan deferral programs, and (3) the recovery of the economy.”
- State officials announced yesterday the eviction moratorium would expire on August 6, and free mediation services will be available. Real estate experts say some landlords who’ve been unable to collect rent for the past year are struggling to keep up with their own expenses and are dropping out of the rental market entirely or plan to raise the rents.
- Shannon Heaven, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, told KHON2 News, “We are seeing somewhat of a decrease in rentals coming on the market because people are sort of fed up, knowing that they didn’t get paid for a year.”
For the first time since January, Hawai‘i reports triple-digit case counts as the Delta variant spreads among those who aren’t vaccinated.
- Health officials recorded the highest single-day increase in cases at 166 infections since January and are concerned numbers may continue to climb due to the Fourth of July holiday.
- Lt. Gov. Josh Green says, “99% of those testing positive in Hawai‘i are unvaccinated,” and the Department of Health is concerned as more keiki living in households with unvaccinated adults are testing positive.
- Hilton Raethel, the head of the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i, confirms 40% of all new cases are the highly contagious Delta variant, according to Hawaiʻi News Now.
- As the upcoming school year approaches, KITV reports that a new law requires the Department of Education to release details of COVID-19 cases reported on its campuses, including the name of the school, the date the positive test result was reported, and the date the COVID-positive individual was last on campus.
- Meanwhile, a federal judge ruled that the State Department of Public Safety “failed to protect inmates from coronavirus outbreaks that have caused the deaths of at least nine prisoners so far.”
Amid the COVID-19 surge, Governor Ige vows to stay the course, keeping indoor mask mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions in place.
- Governor Ige is standing by his plan to keep COVID-19 restrictions in place until the state reaches the 70% vaccination threshold, which he anticipates will happen in September.
- So far, Hawai‘i has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation, with 65% of the population receiving at least one shot and 58.9% who have been fully vaccinated.
- Hawai‘i is also the only state in the nation with restrictions still in place for vaccinated people.
- When asked why he’s sticking with the indoor mask mandate, Governor Ige said, “Once we move forward, I don’t want to be in a position to have to step back. I’m committed to maintaining the mask mandate for now.”
- In a turn of events, the University of Hawai‘i announced it “will not enforce” its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for students to attend classes in-person this fall, citing that the FDA has given emergency but not full approval of the vaccine yet.
- Protesters rallied to lift all COVID-19 restrictions for the full reopening of the state and also spoke out against the COVID-19 vaccine outside Capitol Place and the residence of Lt. Governor Josh Green, according to Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Mahalo nui loa,
Your BG Team