At the direction of the President of the United States, Gov. David Ige has ordered that the United States flag and the Hawai‘i state flag will be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol and upon all state offices and agencies as well as the Hawai‘i National Guard in the State of Hawai‘i through July 18. This action is a mark of respect for Rep. John Lewis’ many years of public service to the nation. The president’s proclamation is posted here Source: The Office of the Governor, State of Hawai'i

Hawai'i State Department of Education (HIDOE) extracurricular and co-curricular activities are scheduled to begin in person on Aug. 19. All programming will be required to adhere to state and county declarations and follow health and safety protocols in the Department’s Return to Learn plan. The date is subject to change as HIDOE continues to monitor the situation and guidance issued by health and government officials. The start date aligns with the Department's directive to schools to focus the first two weeks of the new school year on three priorities: assessing student learning needs; testing and adjusting school safety protocols; and conducting employee training and preparing for classroom and virtual instruction. “We recognize the importance of extracurricular activities when it comes to the overall educational experience of our students. Given the current global health crisis, we are taking steps to ensure the safety of our students and staff while trying to balance a whole-child approach to learning that these programs provide,” Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto said. “We will continue to work closely with medical and health officials to evaluate our processes and procedures as this pandemic evolves.” Extracurricular and co-curricular activities include, but are not limited to, athletics, band, academic competitions and clubs. Specific examples include: Fall sports: football, cheerleading, cross country, air rifle, girls volleyball, and bowling Speech and debate team in-person meetings Marching band practice Drama club rehearsals Staff professional development HIDOE remains committed to reopening schools safely on Aug. 4 for the fall semester. As the COVID-19 situation evolves or as new health and safety guidance becomes available, HIDOE will adjust plans to ensure that a safe learning and working environment is provided for students, teachers and staff. For more information about the Department’s Return to Learn plan, click here.

Governor Ige signs emergency proclamation, extending 14-day quarantine for travelers entering State of Hawai‘i Gov. David Ige has signed the 10th emergency proclamation, which keeps the mandatory 14-day quarantine in effect for travelers entering the State of Hawai‘i. Under the proclamation, travelers arriving in Hawai‘i will continue to undergo a mandatory screening process at the airport. The period of self-quarantine continues to begin at the time of arrival through 14 days or for the duration of the visit – whichever is shorter. All arriving travelers will be required to comply with all applicable state and county rules, directives and orders. The pre-travel testing option, currently scheduled to begin on Sept. 1, will be addressed in the 11th emergency proclamation in August. The proclamation also extends the moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent, suspends certain laws to enable the governor to access CARES Act money in the Rainy Day Fund, and suspends certain post-employment benefits and pre-funding payments to the Hawai‘i Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund for FY 21, to help address the economic shortfalls resulting from COVID-19. Please see the 10th emergency proclamation for more details.

More than 2,200 returning residents and travelers flew into Hawai‘i airports on Wednesday and unless they have an exemption, all of them are required to abide by the State’s current 14-day quarantine rules. It’s a monumental effort to keep track of everyone who should be in quarantine and it involves a hui of law enforcement agencies, representatives of Hawai‘i’s visitor industry, state transportation workers, and the community generally. So far,182 people have been arrested by state or county law enforcement officers for violating emergency quarantine rules. This is the number for O‘ahu (arrests made by the Dept. of the Attorney General Special Investigators), Kaua‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island. The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) reports its officers do respond to quarantine violations and officers have discretion to warn, cite, or arrest based on available facts and circumstances. HPD groups all violations of current emergency rules together and does not provide specific statistics for quarantine violations. Thursday afternoon, Governor Ige, Attorney General Clare E. Connors and Paul Jones, Deputy Chief AG Investigative Division, answered questions from members of the community about quarantine enforcement during a Community Connections Facebook live. The team calling quarantined visitors is made up of workers from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau (HTA’s marketing contractor for the U.S. market), Hawai‘i County Civil Defense and the Maui Police Department. There are approximately 80 members on this calling team, and they work to call quarantined visitors from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. every day, including weekends and holidays. They have contacted well over 27,000 travelers and have made more than 113,000 phone calls, texts and emails since the quarantine order went into effect at the end of March. The team calls quarantined visitors as many as three times during their two-week-long quarantines. Some 7,145 are still actively being tracked. Since the end of March, the team has escalated 667 travel parties for suspected or reported violations. In addition, they supply supporting documentation to law enforcement on all islands for their investigations into quarantine violations. This call team assisted in the case against the cult members arrested on Hawai‘i Island last month. Staff volunteers from the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation contact returning residents, utilizing many of the same procedures as the team tracking quarantined visitors. AG’s investigators also conduct random “compliance” checks on people who are in quarantine. Prior to the conclusion of an individual’s quarantine, AG Special Agents go into the field to see if people are complying. Those, who aren’t, are investigated further to ensure they’re complying. If not, they can be arrested or cited. Jones said, “The response from those that have been checked in the field, have been positive, and they are appreciative that someone is actually checking. We do want to remind people that our agents will always show their credentials.” The AG’s Investigative Division is responsible for a vast array of criminal, administrative, civil, and certain regulatory matters, including investigations of government corruption, white-collar crimes, career criminals, public safety, homeland security, sex offender, computer crimes, etc. Connors commented, “Our investigations division team focuses on any crimes that significantly affect the safety and well-being of our community. In addition, they provide public safety services during emergency situations. We take seriously our responsibility to keep people safe during this COVID-19 pandemic.” RESOURCES (Images/video courtesy: Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center) HD video – Community Connections Facebook Live (July 16, 2020): https://vimeo.com/439160330 HD video – Clare Connors & Paul Jones SOTS (transcription attached): https://vimeo.com/439164082 Photographs – Facebook live session (July 16, 2020) https://www.dropbox.com/sh/54gsi33rck92t6w/AAAL-KiT0FA8K6FBVfzmhbf0a?dl=0 County-by-county breakdown of quarantine violation arrests (numbers reported between July 13-July 16, 2020): Hawai‘i County – 99 Maui County – 16 Kaua‘i County – 46 C&C of Honolulu – 21 (arrests made by Dept. of the Attorney General Special Investigators)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today the extension of a No Sail Order for cruise ships through September 30, 2020. This order continues to suspend passenger operations on cruise ships with the capacity to carry at least 250 passengers in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction. CDC supports the June 19th decision by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)external icon to extend voluntarily the suspension of operations for passenger cruise ship travel until September 15, 2020. In line with CLIA’s announcement of voluntary suspension of operation by its member companies, CDC has extended its No Sail Order to ensure that passenger operations on cruise ships do not resume prematurely. Cumulative CDC data from March 1 through July 10, 2020, shows 2,973 COVID-19 or COVID-like illness cases on cruise ships, in addition to 34 deaths. These cases were part of 99 outbreaks on 123 different cruise ships. During this time frame, 80 percent of ships were affected by COVID-19. As of July 3, nine of the 49 ships under the No Sail Order have ongoing or resolving outbreaks. According to U.S. Coast Guard data, as of July 10, 2020, there are 67 ships with 14,702 crew onboard. This Order will remain in effect until the earliest of: The expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency, The CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations, or September 30, 2020. On cruise ships, passengers and crew share spaces that are more crowded than most urban settings. Even when only essential crew are on board, ongoing spread of COVID-19 still occurs. If unrestricted cruise ship passenger operations were permitted to resume, passengers and crew on board would be at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and those that work or travel on cruise ships would place substantial unnecessary risk on healthcare workers, port personnel and federal partners (i.e., Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard), and the communities they return to. Written comments can be submitted through the Federal Register notice, once published. CDC will continue to update its guidance and recommendations to specify basic safety standards and public health interventions based on the best scientific evidence available. For more information about COVID-19 and cruise ships, please visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-ship/what-cdc-is-doing.html. To view the No Sail Order, go to www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) has selected NEC Corporation, NEC Corporation of America and their partner, Infrared Cameras Inc., to provide thermal temperature screening and facial imaging technology at Hawaii’s public airports to help protect the community and identify passengers with a potentially elevated body temperature. The companies combined resources to submit a unified proposal for the project. “Taking these steps to implement the technology at our airports shows our commitment to providing preventative measures against COVID-19 for the community,” said Gov. David Ige. “We recognize that temperature screening won’t catch every infected passenger, but it is an available tool that can be implemented and combined with the additional measures the State is providing to help prevent the spread of this virus, while helping rebuild the economy.” “We are honored to become a part of this significant project for Hawaii towards the revival of tourism and businesses in the state,” said Toshifumi Yoshizaki, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. “We believe NEC’s technology will help to ensure the safety and health of visitors and residents of Hawaii against COVID-19, and our team will make every effort to ensure the success of this public and private joint project together with all of the partner companies.” “Team NEC’s approach is predicated on enhancing existing processes and services rather than introducing a bottleneck or negative impact to processing speed,” said Raffie Beroukhim, Chief Experience Officer for NEC Corporation of America. “We look forward to working with the State of Hawaii to further automate and enhance the travelers’ experiences with our high throughput, multi-person thermal screening solution.” NEC and Infrared Cameras were selected with a proposal of $23.3 million for equipment and installation and a 10-year maintenance plan of $1.42 million annually for a total contract amount of $37.5 million. The companies were selected in part because of their innovative concept and functionality to deliver accurate and efficient thermal temperature screening for people traveling to Hawaii. The selection committee evaluated four systems and technologies and NEC and Infrared Cameras were determined to be the best fit for Hawaii’s needs. The thermal temperature screening equipment will be installed immediately at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Kahului Airport (OGG), Lihue Airport (LIH), Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) and Hilo International Airport (ITO). Phase 1 will have the temperature scanners installed this month at the gates currently being used for arriving trans-Pacific flights. Phase 2 will have the temperature scanners installed at the remaining gates in the coming weeks. Phase 3 expects to have the facial imaging equipment installed by December 31, 2020. While the Hawaii airports system will leverage facial imaging technology, people should not think of the features they may have seen in a movie. The system incorporates privacy protections from design to deployment and NEC will work with HDOT throughout this process to ensure the solution meets the requirements of the State of Hawaii. Furthermore, the system will only temporarily retain a picture of a person with an elevated temperature of 100.4 degrees and above to help airport representatives identify them and conduct additional assessments to determine if health precautions are necessary. The picture will be erased within 30 minutes and will not be shared with any outside agencies. Anyone with a temperature below 100.4 degrees will not have their image retained at all. The system will not have a person’s personal information, such as their name, address or driver license number. It will not contain information about criminal history or outstanding warrants. The use of the thermal image capture technology is anticipated to be safer and more cost effective than manual temperature checks. Without the use of facial imaging technology, an employee would need to be next to each camera at all times to pull a person aside as they walk by the camera, creating bottlenecks and further exposing employees to travelers and, thus, possible COVID-19 infection. The photograph illustrates an example of the technology to be used at Hawaii’s airports to help identify people with an elevated temperature of 100.4 degrees or above.

To lessen the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the County of Kaua‘i has extended the deadline to pay property taxes to November 18, 2020. Pursuant to Kaua‘i County Code 5A-1.2(13), the Director of Finance has the authority by the County Charter to waive penalty and interest to property taxes for a maximum of 90 days. In order to grant the maximum deferral, the normal August 20, 2020, deadline is now extended to Wednesday, November 18, 2020. To ensure that payment is made in full by November 18, 2020, taxpayers are highly encouraged to make installment payments leading up to the due date. To promote early payment, fees for online credit card and e-check payments are being temporarily waived by the County until September 30, 2020. Therefore, the public is highly encouraged to submit payments via this online service at https://kauairpt.ehawaii.gov. Payments can also be made by mail, in person, or at the drop-box located outside of the Kapulē Building at the Līhu‘e Civic Center. Please make checks payable to the Director of Finance. No appointments are necessary to visit Real Property Collections, but access to the Kapulē lobby will be limited to no more than 10 people at any time in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Therefore, to avoid long wait times, remote payment options as described above are preferred. Failure to pay real property taxes in full by Wednesday, November 18, will result in a 10% penalty, as well as 12% interest per year. For more information, please visit www.kauaipropertytax.com or contact real property collections at 241-4272 or by email at rpc@kauai.gov.

Gov. David Ige has tapped the Department of Taxation’s Deputy Director Damien A. Elefante to serve as DoTax acting director. Elefante has served as deputy director of DoTax since August 2016. He is also an employer trustee, serving in a fiduciary capacity with the Hawai‘i – Union Health Benefits Trust Fund and as an arbitrator with the Court Annexed Arbitration Program. Elefante was also recently confirmed by the Hawai‘i State Senate to serve as chairperson on the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board. Previously, Elefante was a compliance coordinator with DoTax, and deputy attorney general with the Department of the Attorney General, Tax Division, from Nov. 2001 to Oct. 2015. Elefante has also worked as an attorney in private practice and served as a judicial law clerk to Chief Judge James S. Burns, Intermediate Court of Appeals. A graduate of Kailua High School, Elefante earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, New York. Elefante will serve as acting director until the position is permanently filled or until 60 days from July 10, 2020, whichever occurs first.

Department of Health Update 19 Additional Positive COVID-19 Cases Oahu clusters highlight community spread and social gatherings Community coronavirus spread, particularly on O‘ahu, continues to be responsible for the majority of new COVID-19 cases. Many cases have been linked to social gatherings where facemasks and physical distancing was not consistently used. Of the 19 positive cases being reported today by DOH, 16 are on O‘ahu and island of diagnosis for the remaining three (3) remains under investigation. As of today, there has been a cumulative total of 1,311 cases diagnosed in Hawai‘i since late February. Health experts remind everyone that personal responsibility is key toward preventing community-spread, meaning physical distancing, mask-wearing, handwashing, and staying home when sick. Hawaiicovid19.com For more tables, charts and visualizations visit the DOH Disease Outbreak Control Division: https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/what-you-should-know/current-situation-in-hawaii Department of Transportation: Passenger Screening Technology Selected for Hawai‘i’s Airports DOT has selected NEC Corporation, NEC Corporation of America and their partner, Infrared Cameras Inc., to provide thermal temperature screening and facial imaging technology at Hawaiʻi’s public airports to help protect the community and identify passengers with a potentially elevated body temperature. The company’s combined resources to submit a unified proposal for the project. “Taking these steps to implement the technology at our airports shows our commitment to providing preventative measures against COVID-19 for the community,” said Gov. David Ige. “We recognize that temperature screening won’t catch every infected passenger, but it is an available tool that can be implemented and combined with the additional measures the State is providing to help prevent the spread of this virus, while helping to rebuild the economy.” “We are honored to become a part of this significant project for Hawaiʻi towards the revival of tourism and businesses in the state,” said Toshifumi Yoshizaki, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation. “We believe NEC’s technology will help to ensure the safety and health of visitors and residents of Hawaiʻi against COVID-19, and our team will make every effort to ensure the success of this public and private joint project together with all of the partner companies.” See complete details here: https://hidot.hawaii.gov/blog/2020/07/16/hdot-selects-passenger-screening-technology-provider-for-hawaiis-airports/ Hawai‘i Tourism Authority: 2,287 Passengers Arrive on Wednesday Yesterday, a total of 2,287 people arrived in Hawai‘i including 498 visitors and 825 returning residents. There was a total of 24 arriving flights. This table shows the number of people who arrived by air from out of state yesterday but does not show interisland travel. Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: Hawai‘i’s Unemployment Rate at 13.9% in June DLIR announced Thursday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 13.9-percent compared to the revised rate of 23.5-percent in May. Statewide, 527,600 were employed and 85,200 unemployed in June for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 612,800. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 11.1-percent in June, down from 13.3-percent in May. DLIR would like to note that the COVID-19 Pandemic is impacting the data derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the survey used to produce the unemployment rate, also known as the household survey. In the household survey, individuals are classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force based on questions about their activities during the survey reference week (June 7th through June 13th). COVID-19-related issues are affecting the counts and the official level of unemployment published for the State of Hawai‘i by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The major discrepancy, with the exception of those unemployed on temporary layoff, is that individuals without a job who are not actively seeking work, particularly during this time of government-ordered business closures and social distancing requirements, are classified as not in the labor force in the CPS. The CPS misclassification issue of workers who were recorded as “employed but not at work” instead of “unemployed on temporary layoff” is a contributing factor and the low response rate for the CPS during the pandemic is possibly another factor. State Issued $2.2 Billion in Benefits Since March 1 DLIR also announced today updated employment insurance claims information, including paying $2,189,522,737 since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 1, 2020. DLIR Deputy Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio said, “91-percent of the valid unemployment insurance claims that have come in since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have been processed and paid out. Although it appears that the number of claims requiring departmental action is stable, we are still receiving nearly 8,000 new claims a week.”

Department of Health: 29 Additional Positive COVID-19 Cases The majority of new coronavirus cases reported by DOH today are associated with community-spread. Of the 29 cases, 27 are on O‘ahu and two (2) are on Hawai‘i Island. All but two of the cases involve adults. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state now stands at 1292. As of July 14 at 6:30 p.m., there were 31 people hospitalized for COVID-19. LATEST CASES IN HAWAI‘I Total cases:1292* (29 newly reported) Hawai’i County:107 Honolulu County:986 Kaua’i County:43 Maui County:135† Pending:0 Residents diagnosed outside of Hawai‘i:21 Required Hospitalization:137‡ Hawaii deaths:22 Released from Isolation:951§ Cumulative totals as of 12:00pm, July 15, 2020 *AS A RESULT OF UPDATED INFORMATION, ONE CASE FROM HONOLULU WAS REMOVED FROM THE COUNTS. †One case is a Lanai resident whose exposure is on Maui Island and who will be remaining on Maui Island for the interim. ‡Includes Hawaii residents hospitalized out of state. §Includes cases that meet isolation release criteria (Isolation should be maintained until at least 3 days (72 hours) after resolution of fever and myalgia without the use of antipyretics OR at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset, whichever is longer). (The cases that have died and one case that has left the jurisdiction have been removed from these counts). Positive cases include presumptive and confirmed cases, and Hawaii residents and non-residents; data are preliminary and subject to change. Note that CDC provides case counts according to states of residence.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR) today announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 13.9 percent compared to the revised rate of 23.5 percent in May. Statewide, 527,600 were employed and 85,200 unemployed in June for a total seasonally adjusted labor force of 612,800. Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 11.1 percent in June, down from 13.3 percent in May. The DLIR would like to note that the COVID-19 Pandemic is impacting the data derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the survey used to produce the unemployment rate, also known as the household survey. In the household survey, individuals are classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force based on questions about their activities during the survey reference week (June 7th through June 13th). COVID-19-related issues are affecting the counts and the official level of unemployment published for the State of Hawai‘i by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The major discrepancy, with the exception of those unemployed on temporary layoff, is that individuals without a job who are not actively seeking work, particularly during this time of government-ordered business closures and social distancing requirements, are classified as not in the labor force in the CPS. The CPS misclassification issue of workers who were recorded as “employed but not at work” instead of “unemployed on temporary layoff” is a contributing factor and the low response rate for the CPS during the pandemic is possibly another factor. More information on CPS can be found in the Technical Notes and BLS’s web site provides more information about the impact of COVID-19 on the household survey data (click on BLS COVID-19 Employment Situation FAQs under Related links on the HIWI Labor Force and Unemployment webpage). The unemployment rate figures for the State of Hawai‘i and the U.S. in this release are seasonally adjusted, in accordance with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) methodology. The not seasonally adjusted rate for the State was 14.4 percent in June, compared to the revised rate of 23.4 percent in May. Initial claims for unemployment benefits continued to decrease, declining by 32.2 percent over the month. Meanwhile, weeks claims continued its ascent, increasing by 4.9 percent as establishments remained closed due to COVID-19. In contrast to one year ago, initial claims increased by 6,260 or 499 percent and weeks claims grew by 118,601 or 1671 percent. Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey) In a separate measure of employment, total nonagricultural jobs increased by 18,300 in June over May. Job gains occurred in Leisure & Hospitality (+12,300), Professional & Business Services (+1,500), Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (+1,100), Construction (+800), Other Services (+200), and Financial Activities (+100). Within Leisure & Hospitality, job expansion was roughly split between Accommodation and Food Services & Drinking Places. In the Professional & Business Services sector, just under two-thirds of the rise was in Administrative and Support & Waste Management & Remediation Services. Within the Trade, Transportation, & Utilities grouping, the employment gains were concentrated in Retail Trade. Job losses were experienced in Manufacturing (-100), Information (-100), and Education & Health Services (-400). Government employment rose by 2,900, with gains in the Department of Education (small increase from May to June versus usual May to June drop off) and in the Department of Health. Compared with one year ago, there has been a decline of 94,700 (-14.5 percent) nonfarm jobs, while the comparison with just three months ago (March) has the job count contracting by slightly more, at -95,300 or -14.6 percent.

Two men were recently arrested on Kaua‘i for violating Hawai‘i’s 14-day quarantine emergency rules pertaining to COVID-19. The quarantine requires that all trans-Pacific visitors and returning residents stay in an approved accommodation for 14 days, including having food delivered, except for emergency medical purposes. Kaua‘i police officers arrested John Shiffler, 51, of Salt Lake City, Utah at approximately 6:40 p.m. Tuesday at the Līhu‘e Airport after he refused to comply with the Governor’s quarantine requirement. Shiffler arrived on a direct Delta flight from Los Angeles International Airport. Kaua‘i police also arrested Andrew Denny, 40, of Wailua at approximately 9:25 a.m. on Wednesday. According to preliminary police reports, Denny spent one month in Florida and other areas of the continental U.S. before returning to the island on July 4. He had been reported to the Kaua‘i Police Department (KPD) as not abiding by the 14-day quarantine order and had been seen by people at various locations around the island. Patrol officers located him on Wednesday morning in Līhu‘e. Both men were taken to Wilcox Hospital for a medical evaluation and clearance before being brought to KPD’s detention center where they are both being held on $1,000 bail. KPD has made 46 arrests to-date for violations of the 14-day quarantine emergency rules. All individuals who are arrested are subject to up to one year in jail and/or up to $5,000 in fines. “Kaua‘i continues to remain vulnerable considering its limited health care capacity, especially with the COVID pandemic sweeping across the mainland,” said Patrol Services Bureau Assistant Chief Mark Begley. “Our team of police officers, National Guard soldiers, and community partners remain vigilant in protecting Kaua‘i. But we cannot do it alone. We need everyone’s cooperation to protect our island, including those who are thinking of traveling during a pandemic.” Photos courtesy of Kaua‘i Police Department