Hawaii Daily COVID-19 Update: Thursday, May 7, 2020

Hawaii Daily COVID-19 coronavirus reports and statistics from government departments as of Thursday, May 7, 2020 in the Aloha State.

Governor’s Office:

Governor & DLIR Director Provide Update on Unemployment Insurance

Gov. Ige and Scott Murakami, Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), gave updates on progress being made regarding unemployment insurance, during today’s Community Connection Facebook Live. Murakami reported 141,077 claims were processed as of Wednesday, which represents 63% of the total claims received. Of that number,100,602 claims were paid out. DLIR is asking anyone who needs to file weekly certifications for their unemployment claims to file on designated days based on their last names to avoid overloading the system. The schedule is A-G (Mondays), H-O (Tuesdays), P-Z (Wednesdays), with Thursday-Sunday designated as open days for anyone. DLIR is also expanding its call center with an additional 150 phones to handle more questions. Staff are also working to create a database for businesses that are bringing back their employees and receiving PPP federal loans. Murakami and the governor answered numerous questions during the Facebook Live, including why weekly certifications are still needed, the timeline for the new PUA system for self-employed and contract workers, and how to certify and backdate claims. Gov. Ige conducts Facebook Live’s weekly to answer questions. Watch: https://www.facebook.com/GovernorDavidIge/

Department of Health:

Three Additional COVID-19 Cases Reported

Three O‘ahu adults are the lastest positive cases of coronavirus being reported by DOH. This brings the total of COVID-19 positive cases among state residents to 569. Non-resident cases remain at 54 and 6 are unknown place of residence.

Hawai‘i COVID-19 Counts as of 12:00 noon, May 7, 2020

** Refers to positive cases that have an unknown county of diagnosis at the time of this report. As more information becomes available for these cases, they are assigned to the proper County of Diagnosis. A negative number indicates the number of previously unknown cases that have now been assigned to a county.

Laboratory* Testing Data

*Electronic Laboratory Reporting  **23 test results were inconclusive.

Please note: There appears to have been a glitch in the ELR reporting, in that the system was over counting some tests over the past week. Staff have fixed the issue and adjusted the data.

For more tables visit: https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority:

669 Passengers Arrive in Hawai‘i

Today marks six weeks since the State’s mandatory 14-day self-quarantine started for all passengers arriving in Hawai‘i from out of state. Yesterday, 669 people arrived in Hawai‘i including 233 visitors and 189 residents. The following table shows passenger numbers coming into the state. The table in the DBEDT section shows interisland travel.

AIRPORT ARRIVALS FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020

*Visitors are people who do not have a Hawai‘i ID, including essential healthcare workers, essential federal workers, former residents like mainland college students coming to stay with family, military on temporary assignment and leisure travelers.

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/4567/050720-passenger-count-press-release.pdf

Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism

INTERISLAND AIRPORT ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES FOR MAY 4, 2020

https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/covid19/

Department of Transportation:

Power Outage Test Scheduled at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)

There are two scheduled power outages at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport coming up. DOT and Hawaiian Electric will be testing the Emergency Power Facility. The planned events are scheduled for the following dates and times:

• 11:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, to 4 a.m. Sunday, May 10
• 11:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, to 4 a.m. Sunday, May 17

During the outage there will be no power to Terminals 1 and 2, and all parking structures. Facilities on ‘Ewa Service Road will also be impacted. Additionally, the roads and H-1 Freeway offramps leading to HNL will be closed to the public throughout that time. The outage will be conducted when no flights are scheduled to arrive or depart, however the power to the airfield will remain on and unchanged during the test. Deputy Director Ross Higashi, Hawai‘i DOT Airports Division said, “It is an ideal time to complete this test since there are fewer flights and passengers at the airport as a result of COVID-19. DOT employees continue to work on maintenance projects and efforts like this test during the pandemic.”

https://hidot.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/05/07/power-outage-test-scheduled-at-hnl/

Contraflow Operations Resume on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i; Update on Kaua‘i Contraflow

As low-risk businesses prepare to reopen across the State, the DOT will be resuming special-use lane operations for congestion mitigation. The DOT suspended those operations temporarily due to the COVID-19 emergency, including contraflow lanes such as the Zipper lane, on March 25. Special-use lane operations on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island will resume Thursday, May 7. The Kuhio Highway Contraflow on Kaua‘i is planned to resume Monday, May 11 at the latest after temporary work is completed at the Mauka Wailua Bridge. A list of these lanes statewide and hours of operation can be found at:

https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/special-use-lanes/

https://hidot.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/05/06/contraflow-operations-resume-on-oahu-and-hawaii-island-thursday-may-7-update-to-kuhio-highway-contraflow-on-kauai/

Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority:

HPHA Accepting Affordable Housing Applications in Maui County

The Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority (HPHA) announced today that it has dozens of affordable housing units available throughout Maui County to assist families affected by the COVID-19 emergency. HPHA’s Executive Director, Hakim Ouansafi said “The COVID-19 Emergency is undoubtedly one of the most life-changing events that we have seen in modern times. During this rapidly changing time, the HPHA stands ready to continue to assist our most disadvantaged families with safe, decent and sanitary affordable housing.” Visit HPHA for more information:

http://www.hpha.hawaii.gov/

Hawai‘i State Legislature:

House and Senate Scheduled to Reconvene on Monday

House Speaker Scott Saiki & Senate President Ronald Kouchi confirmed today that the Legislature will reconvene on Monday, May 11 through Monday, May 18. The Senate could go longer because of the large number of board & commission nominations that need to be taken up. In addition, both bodies are scheduled to take up budget bills.

Yesterday’s Hawaii Daily COVID-19 update.

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