In accordance with the City shutting down the Satellite City Halls to all traffic including appointments, the Board of Water Supply will be doing the same starting today until further notice. Effective Wednesday, March 25, 2020, customers who wish to pay a water bill, have building permits checked or other water-related issues, will need to do the following: Bill payment: please use online services, drop box or mail your payment. More information can be found at https://www.boardofwatersupply.com/paymentoptions. Building plans / permits: plans can be dropped off from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 630 S. Beretania St. There are bins outside. If you have any questions, please call Service Engineering at 748-5460. More information can be found at https://www.boardofwatersupply.com/plans. Other water-related issues: call 748-5000 and choose the appropriate selection from the menu or visit us at https://www.boardofwatersupply.com/customeroptions. BWS also wants to reiterate that they will not be shutting off any water service. If you have an outstanding account with BWS, please contact our customer service team at (808) 748-5000, option 4 to set up a payment plan. BWS will continue to provide water service to the community and wants to emphasize that the water is safe to drink. The water system is a closed pressurized system and it is nearly impossible to introduce foreign objects, bacteria or viruses into the system. The water is disinfected with chlorine at levels that are effective in killing bacteria and viruses. Testing is conducted daily to ensure disinfection levels are maintained and the water is safe to drink. The BWS is committed to the community and to public health and encourages anyone seeking more information about the coronavirus to sign up for email updates at the Hawaii Department of Health website, https://hawaiicovid19.com. As per our existing practice, any BWS-related news and information will be shared on our website, through social media and HNL.info. About the Board of Water Supply The Board of Water Supply (BWS), a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu, manages Oahu’s municipal water resources and distribution system.  As the largest water utility in the State, the BWS serves approximately one million customers on Oahu.  The BWS embraces its mission of “Water for Life – Ka Wai Ola” – to provide a safe, dependable, and affordable water supply, now and into the future.  Uwē  ka lani, ola ka honua – “When the heavens weep, the earth lives.” For more information, visit www.boardofwatersupply.com, follow @BWSHonolulu or like the BWS’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BWSHonolulu. #BoardOfWaterSupply #BWS #WaterBill

The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is waiving routine TB clearance requirements for selected groups to support COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The suspension will remain in effect through May 31, 2020. The suspension will support social distancing in the community to protect the public, especially vulnerable seniors and individuals with medical conditions that could increase their risk for COVID-19. Although TB tests for routine screening are mandated under Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 11, Chapter 164, the DOH determined that temporarily suspending the TB clearance for these selected categories do not pose immediate risks for tuberculosis transmission in the community. This also reduces the greater risks of contracting COVID-19 and helps to further manage the spread of the virus in communities across the state. DOH conducts an average of 50,000 tuberculosis skin tests annually, and provides treatment to approximately 120 individuals identified with TB. TB clearances for the following are suspended through May 31, 2020: Annual clearance for healthcare workers Annual clearance for patients in long-term care facilities Food handlers Children entering childcare, preschool or school (K-12th grade) Post-secondary school students and employees The Department of Health continues to require TB clearances for new healthcare workers, new childcare and school employees, and new residents of long-term care facilities.  DOH will continue to provide full evaluation and treatment of patients with active TB as well as those who have been exposed to individuals with active TB. Residents who need a TB clearance may call their local public health nursing office, or Lanakila Health Center at (808) 832-5731, to make an appointment for this service.

In accordance with Governor Ige’s Stay at Home and Work from Home orders and considering the decreased volumes on Hawaii roads, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Highways Division will be suspending operation of the State’s special use lanes beginning Wednesday, March 25. Special use lanes are contraflow or High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) lanes designed to reduce congestion by adding capacity or encouraging carpooling. A statewide list of the special use lanes on state highways can be found at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/special-use-lanes/ HDOT initially announced that these lanes would remain in operation in a news release on the closure of its public offices on March 19. We initially planned to keep these services ongoing during the COVID-19 emergency to support those that use the lanes as well as the contractors operating these lanes. During the suspension of special use lane operations, the Zipper lane contractor on Oahu will be performing maintenance on the Zip mobile and barrier that may require intermittent closures of the H-1 westbound lanes used for the Zipper lane. HDOT Highways remains committed to maintaining and improving the highways system during the COVID-19 emergency.

Internal communication of a COVID-19 test at the Dept. of Health resulted in a report being misread and initiated a retest of samples today from an O‘ahu adult, who died on March 20th. This evening the second test came back negative for COVID-19. DOH Director Dr. Bruce Anderson says our focus was to get information out in a timely manner. This is an unprecedented situation and we’re still developing best practices. Anderson said, “I accept all responsibility for not verifying reporting procedures. We’re immediately instituting measures to ensure this doesn’t happen again. My condolences to the family and friends of the person who passed away and our apologies for any undue anxiety this caused.” Swabs from the person were submitted to the state laboratories two days after the person died. They’d originally been tested by a private clinical laboratory with inconclusive results.

Honolulu, Hawai‘i – The Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 will convene once again today to assess and advise the Senate regarding how the State of Hawai‘i will continue to deal with the pandemic. The agenda will include, but not be limited to: Confirm the development of the state departmental plans and procedures; Review and assess current state departmental plans and procedures; Review and assess whether state departmental plans and procedures are properly implemented in a timely manner in order to safeguard public health and safety; and Communicate and disseminate the information gathered. The special committee will be meeting with the following: 12:30 p.m.: Dr. Bruce Anderson, Director of Department of Health 1:30 p.m..: General Kenneth Hara, Adjutant General, Department of Defense Due to social distancing measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at the State Capitol, the meetings will not be open to the public to attend in person. To watch the livestream of the meeting via YouTube, link to https://youtu.be/ZPUShzPUs6Q The special committee members are: Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, Senator Michelle N. Kidani, Senator Donna Mercado Kim, Senator Sharon Y. Moriwaki, and Senator Kurt Fevella.

The Honorable David Ige Executive Chambers Dear Governor Ige: Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi and House Speaker Scott K. Saiki sent you letters on March 19 and 20, 2020, asking you to take aggressive action to contain COVID-19. We are extremely disappointed that you and your administration continue to fail to realize the gravity of the situation Hawaii faces and have not led our state with one decisive voice. The statement you made at your press conference on March 21 calling for the quarantine of arriving persons entering the State completely contradicts the Department of Health’s (DOH) statement: “There are residents of Hawaii who believe the COVID-19 positive cases here are all visitors to the state, and unfortunately, there is stigma developing against visitors in Hawaii. I am asking the media to help the public understand that of the 37 positive test results to date, 32 of them are the result of traveling residents. The majority of cases are residents who returned home after traveling." The underlying fact is that all the early COVID-19 cases came from travel related circumstances and it is because of this unimpeded travel that community spread is occurring. Your March 21 call for quarantine of all arriving persons entering the State should have been instituted earlier and at this point in time, falls short of what is needed to comprehensively address this pandemic and will jeopardize the health and well-being of the residents and the economy of Hawaii as community spread is here. The only question is the extent and harm the spread will cause. The only way to contain community spread of the virus is to impose a shelter-in-place directive upon all persons in Hawaii. Exceptions can be made for the continuity of essential services such as food (including food transportation, hubs, and farmers’ markets), medical, water, communications, gasoline, cargo, financial transactions, public safety, and federal critical infrastructure sectors. This is a medical crisis and it calls on all of us to heed the advice of the medical community. Hundreds of local healthcare providers have already signed a letter pleading that you take such extreme measures, e.g., closure of non-essential businesses. Thousands of residents have signed on-line petitions asking you to mandate all the people in Hawaii to shelter in place. The four county councils have also demanded stronger action to protect their islands. Jurisdictions and nations that have not implemented severe restrictions have seen staggering and uncontrollable infection rates. Our kupuna and frontline medical workers are also at higher risk. Their exposure, coupled with a lack of beds and ventilators, should be reason enough to take decisive action to prevent community spread and to prevent limited medical resources to be redirected from other daily medical emergencies that residents will encounter. The Administration’s attempt to quarantine arriving passengers will only be effective if coupled with an aggressive shelter-in-place protocol for all residents. General Hara admitted at the March 21 press conference that a quarantining process will be difficult to enforce. General Hara's statement further underscores the need for a directed shelter-in-place order for all residents in conjunction with quarantining of arriving passengers. The DOH has already publicly stated that community spread is here. Your Administration lacks clear information and consistent testing protocols that leads to confusion and chaos amongst medical professionals. Your statement that there is no large community spread can only be made if your administration has tested every individual who requested testing and as DOH has repeatedly stated, we lack the resources to do that. While there have been some large group screenings, many residents who requested testing were refused and told to self-quarantine until symptoms arise, then and only then to inform their personal physician or urgent care. That means that at this time, we do not know whether there is a large community spread, and the Administration’s refusal to take appropriate further aggressive action until we see widespread community outbreak is irresponsible. The Administration’s attempt to institute a voluntary shelter-in-place approach is not working. This has resulted in various counties using different approaches, i.e., restaurant restrictions on Oahu and Maui, curfew on Kauai, and none on the Big Island. Also, responsible citizens have taken steps to shut down their places of work while others have not. Lack of consistency and uniformity will not contain the virus but result in overtaxing the medical professionals and bring uncertainty to when the voluntary shelter-in-place will end. This will result in delay in any recovery attempt. Governor, please take every preventative action possible to keep this from escalating into a full-blown public health crisis. #COVID19 #Coronavirus #ShelterInPlace #HawaiiSenate #RonKouchi

What: Tsunami Watch Canceled Who: Hawai'i Emergency Management Agency When: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 TSUNAMI THREAT CANCELED The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has CANCELED a TSUNAMI WATCH for the Hawaiian Islands effective March 24, 2020 at 5:54 PM.

Crew will remain on the ship while it is in port The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Harbors Division notifies the public that additional cruise ships are planning to enter Honolulu Harbor for fuel and provisions. The MS Regatta cruise ship is anchored offshore and will come into port after all the passengers on the Norwegian Jewel ship have disembarked. There are no passengers on the ship. The crew will remain on the vessel while at port. There have been no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 associated with the vessel. The Seven Seas Navigator and Seven Seas Mariner ships have also requested to enter Honolulu Harbor for fuel and provisions. Like the Regatta, no passengers are on either of those vessels. Crew members will be required to stay on the ships the entire time they are in port. There are no confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 on the ships. The arrival dates for the ships are to be determined. A temporary and voluntary suspension in cruise ship passenger operations took effect March 14, 2020. Cruise ships are not able to stay at sea for the duration of the 30 day pause in operations. Cruise lines are relocating ships around the world. Additional cruise ships may port at Honolulu Harbor to refuel. Each case will be considered on an individual basis.

School facilities will remain closed to students through April 30, based on the latest guidance and information from health officials and elected leaders. Traditional, in-school instruction is on hold until schools reopen. Tips and tools gathered by HIDOE’s Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design are also available for the public at bit.ly/HIDOEVirtualLearningParentResource The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) announced today school facilities will remain closed to students through April 30, based on the latest guidance and information from health officials and elected leaders. Traditional, in-school instruction is on hold until schools reopen. “I want to thank each and every one of the Department’s 44,000 employees for working in new ways during these unprecedented times,” Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto said. “These are uncertain and anxious circumstances for everyone in our communities and we sincerely appreciate your patience as our response to this health crisis continues to evolve and we make the needed adjustments for health and safety.” The Department, along with charter schools, will be sending out information about enrichment opportunities, including online resources and printed material resources such as instructional packets. Parents and guardians are encouraged to look out for information from their child’s school and teachers. Tips and tools gathered by HIDOE’s Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design are also available for the public at bit.ly/HIDOEVirtualLearningParentResource. Special education services Schools will ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers. Schools are working toward providing the most appropriate modifications and accommodations under the circumstances. Related services that can be provided via telepractice will be considered on a case-by-case basis for students who have qualified for these services. When school resumes in its traditional manner, Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Section 504 teams will meet to determine if there was a loss of skills as a result of the extended school closure, and the need for compensatory education. Grab-and-go meal school sites Nine additional sites will begin breakfast and lunch service Wednesday, March 25. Parents and caregivers who come to pick up a meal must be accompanied by a child. Meals will not be served Thursday, March 26, which is Prince Kuhio Day. For the complete list of sites, click here. By the end of this week, the Department will be sharing specific plans to ensure its 10,000 eligible high school graduates can earn diplomas. The Department will also provide next-level information based on the planning work accomplished by schools, complex areas and state offices for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. “We remain focused on and committed to our educational mission and we look forward to resuming instruction and a sense of normalcy as quickly as possible,” Kishimoto added. HIDOE COVID-19 updates will continue to be posted on the Department’s website at hawaiipublicschools.org.

We are now LIVE: The Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 will be going live today at 12 p.m. on our YouTube page with David Lassner of the University of Hawai'i, Dr. Christina Kishimoto Superintendent of DOE, and Chris Tatum CEO of Hawaii Tourism Authority regarding Hawaii's COVID-19 plans and procedures. Please click link below to connect to youtube. Mahalo!

The Senate Special Committee on COVID-19 will convene today to assess and advise the Senate regarding how the State of Hawai‘i will continue to deal with the pandemic. The agenda will include, but not be limited to: Confirm the development of the state departmental plans and procedures; Review and assess current state departmental plans and procedures; Review and assess whether state departmental plans and procedures are properly implemented in a timely manner in order to safeguard public health and safety; and Communicate and disseminate the information gathered. The special committee will be meeting with the following: 12:00 p.m.: University of Hawaii President David Lassner 1:00 p.m..: Superintendent Christina Kishimoto, Department of Education 2:00 p.m.: CEO Chris Tatum, Hawaii Tourism Due to social distancing measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at the State Capitol, the meetings will not be open to the public to attend in person. To watch the livestream of the meeting via YouTube, link to https://youtu.be/kMJBYIQ-if0 The special committee members are: Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, Senator Michelle N. Kidani, Senator Donna Mercado Kim, Senator Sharon Y. Moriwaki, and Senator Kurt Fevella.