(BIVN) – The number of cases of COVID-19 on Hawaiʻi island has remained the same, and all but one of those cases have been released from isolation.

Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense issued this message on Tuesday morning:

On today’s report of COVID-19, the total number of people who have tested positive for Hawaii Island is 81. From this, 80 have been cleared as recovered with the remaining 1 quarantined and monitored by the Department of Health. At this date no one is hospitalized.

For your information, the total of 7,100 people have been test on Hawaii Island. Thank you for your participation and know how import it is to continue testing. Early testing means early detection and early care that helps stop the spreading of this virus.

For your information, a food drop will be held today in Ka`u at the Pahala Gym. Hours are from 10 this morning ‘til 12 noon. Thank you Hawaii Food Basket and all the contributors for making this possible and the Hawaii National Guard, County Police, and the Sheriff’s Department for helping.

It was announced that medium risk businesses, such as salons, restaurants, barber shops, and places of worship may begin reopening June 1st. Individual opening dates will be dependent on their readiness to meet the requirements of safety. If assistance is needed, please call Hawaii County Task Force at 935-0031.

Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.

Only One New Case Reported Over Memorial Day Weekend

On Saturday, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health reported one new case of coronavirus on Maui. There were no new cases reported on Sunday and Monday.

Electronic Lab Reporting Interrupted

According to numbers provided by the State of Hawaiʻi on Monday, the total number of individuals tested by clinical and State laboratories is 44,523. 641 were positive and 43,867 were negative. However, in a message posted y the Hawaiʻi COVID-19 Joint Information Center, officials said the “tables are updated based on investigation data only. There has been a temporary interruption in the electronic laboratory reporting, which affects the receipt of negative test result numbers and laboratory testing data cannot be updated.” Information technology staff are reviewing the issue, the State says.

Hawai‘i May See Double Digit Economic Downturn In 2020

According to the Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism:

Hawai‘i is one of the hardest hit states economically, but it is one of the safest states during the COVID-19 pandemic. DBEDT Director Mike McCartney said, “While our economy will not recover overnight, Hawai‘i is well positioned because of our strong human will, innovative spirit and physical infrastructure. We are well positioned to go beyond recovery and evolve into a more balanced and diversified economy.” On Friday DBEDT released its second quarter 2020 Statistical and Economic Report today. The department projects Hawai‘i’s economic growth will fall by 12.1 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initial unemployment claims started to surge during the week of March 16, and totaled 232,893, as of the end of May 16, 2020, increasing 2,081 percent from the same period a year earlier.

After declining 53.7 percent in March, the number of visitor arrivals was only 3,565 in the full month of April, while the average daily visitor arrivals in 2019 was 28,562. During the first 21 days of May, visitor arrivals to the state totaled 5,397, the daily visitor count (257 per day) now is more than double the April daily count (120 per day).Most businesses surveyed had applied for some type of federal financial assistance, but half of businesses had not received assistance when they were surveyed. The first week of the survey corresponded with the opening of the second wave of federal funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). Businesses that did not get their applications submitted in time for the first round of funding were eligible to have their applications reviewed during the second round, which is still ongoing. The report is based on certain assumptions. Since the global COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying tourism shutdown are unprecedented, Hawai‘i’s economic forecast cannot be generated using past trends; however, basic relationships between economic variables remain unchanged, such as the relationship between job count and unemployment, personal income and GDP. Due to the government assistance programs, there will be a significant increase in personal transfer receipts from the federal government, which consists of income payments to households in which no current services are performed. The federal assistance will be reflected in household spending.

According to the Hawaiʻi DBEDT, based on these assumptions:

• DBEDT projects that Hawai‘i’s economic growth rate, as measured by the real gross domestic product GDP), will drop by 12.1 percent in 2020, then will increase at 0.7 percent in 2021, 0.6 percent in 2022 and 1.1 percent in 2023.
• Hawai‘i will welcome 3.4 million visitors in 2020, a decrease of 67.5 percent from the 2019 level.
• Visitor arrivals will increase to 6.2 million in 2021, 8.3 million in 2022, and 9.4 million in 2023.
• Visitor arrivals will not reach the 2019 level until 2025, based on the assumptions. Visitor spending will decrease more during the next few years due to the decrease in daily spending.

Passenger Arrivals By Air (Hawaiiʻi Tourism Authority)

Yesterday, 966 people arrived in Hawaii. During this same time last year, nearly 30,000 passengers arrived in Hawaii daily, including residents and visitors. The state’s mandatory 14-day self-quarantine started on March 26th for all passengers arriving in Hawaii from out of state. The quarantine order was expanded on April 1st to include interisland travelers. This table shows the number of people who arrived by air from out of state yesterday and does not include interisland travel. This data was collected from the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s (DOT) new Mandatory Travel Declaration Form.