General News

Updated: 10/23/2020, 12:15 p.m. 

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 3 deaths and 131 new COVID-19 cases. It's the second day running that the state's case count have reached three digits, driven in part by the outbreak on Lanai.

The latest count brings the total number of COVID cases during the pandemic to 14,464. The death toll rose to 209.

Some Honolulu bar owners have filed a lawsuit claiming the city's tiered system for reopening businesses during the coronavirus pandemic is arbitrary.

Honolulu police issued warnings or citations to thousands of people in violation of coronavirus protocols since the state launched a pre-arrival testing program to reopen to tourists.

Updated: 10/22/2020, 12:08 p.m. The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 3 deaths and 102 new COVID-19 cases. The new infections return the state's case count to three-digit territory.

Updated: 10/21/2020, 12:55 p.m.

A lawyer for U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Wednesday that his client, who is charged with illegally entering a Hawaii public park that was closed because of the coronavirus, will plead not guilty.

Hawaiʻi’s Pacific Islander community is seeing a bump in COVID-19 cases after weeks of declining numbers. The situation has been particularly rough on the state’s Micronesian community, which has experienced a void in diplomatic leadership throughout the pandemic.

Updated: 10/21/2020, 1:05 p.m.

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 14 deaths and 78 new COVID-19 cases. The state said 10 of the deaths were reported as a result of updated information from Hawaii Island nursing homes. They occurred from mid-September to early October. Four more recent deaths occurred on Oahu.

A former high-ranking Honolulu prosecutor who is in jail while awaiting sentencing for a conspiracy conviction in Hawaii’s largest corruption case wants to participate in hearings for a lawsuit her uncle filed against her by telephone because of the pandemic.

Updated: 10/20/2020, 12:10 p.m. 

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 2 deaths and 91 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the case count up once again.

Oahu had 61 new cases followed by 24 on Hawaii Island, 2 in Maui County and none in Kauai County. Four more cases were diagnosed out of state. 

The latest count brings the total number of COVID cases during the pandemic to 14,156. The death toll rose to 189. 

HILO — A Hawaii state program providing rental assistance to tenants struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily stopped accepting applications.

Updated: 10/19/2020, 12:09 p.m. The Hawaii Department of Health today reported no deaths and 39 new COVID-19 cases, among the best daily counts the state has recorded in recent weeks.

Oahu had 31 new cases followed by 7 on Hawaii Island, 1 on Kauai and none in Maui County. The latest count brings the total number of COVID cases during the pandemic to 14,068. The death toll stood at 187. 

Over 7,000 trans-Pacific passengers arrived Friday, the second day of Hawaii's Safe Travels program that allows visitors and returning residents to skip the travel quarantine if they take a pre-test showing they are negative for COVID-19.

Public schools in Hawaii reported 10 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus among staff and students during the week that ended Friday.

Prices have risen for most goods and services on Oahu since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, a new federal report said.

Hawaii's Board of Education has approved phasing out distance learning curriculum that parents and teachers complained contained racist and sexist content and will send parents a letter acknowledging the Acellus program was selected hastily during the pandemic without proper vetting.

The first day of Hawaii's Safe Travels program allowing visitors and returning residents to skip the travel quarantine if they pre-tested negative for COVID-19 saw over 10,000 arrivals, up from the approximately 2,000 daily passengers in previous days.

Nobel Prize-winning astronomer Andrea Ghez says she hopes to work through issues surrounding the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.

Ghez shared this year’s Nobel Prize in physics for her work identifying a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.

She did the research using the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, a facility she began working with more than 25 years ago.

Hundreds of Hawaii airport concession, bar and restaurant workers are expected to be permanently laid off this week, according to a local union.

Updated: 10/16/2020, 3:21 p.m. 

The state Department of Health today reported 1 death and 89 new COVID-19 cases. The latest case count represents the second day running of daily infections in the double digits. The number brings the statewide total of coronavirus cases to 13,853. The death toll rose to 185.

Updated: 10/15/2020, 3:29 p.m. Hawaii is focusing too much on COVID-19 infections that might come through its airports when the vast majority of COVID-19 cases result from community clusters, said Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz.

Updated: 10/14/2020, 12:55 p.m.

The state Department of Health today reported 10 deaths and 101 new COVID-19 cases. The latest case count returns the daily infections to triple digits. The number brings the statewide total of coronavirus cases to 13,674. The death toll rose to 183.

Hawaii’s public schools will stop using a distance learning program after parents complained about racist and sexist content.

Hawaii plans to reopen to trans-Pacific travelers without quarantine starting Thursday if the passengers can show a negative COVID-19 test. The procedures are as complex as a Rube Goldberg machine.

The number of Hawaii bankruptcy filings fell in September despite the state's ongoing economic struggle because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Updated: 10/13/2020, 12:26 p.m.

Where we stand

The state Department of Health today reported four deaths and 62 new COVID-19 cases. The latest case count is the second day in a row that daily infections fell to double-digits. The numbers bring the statewide total of COVID cases to 13,575. The death toll rose to 173.

Even before the pandemic, internet service on Molokaʻi was rarely ideal – spotty coverage, slow speeds and constant buffering. This has become an even bigger frustration for residents on the island’s Hawaiian Home Lands, where service is limited to one embattled telecom provider.