(Honolulu Star-Advertiser) – By Allison Schaefers. The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii has used its newly formed COVID-19 flight assistance program to send back nine travelers so far, including visitors from Denver and from Guam.
(Hawaii News Now) – By HHN Staff. HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) – One of the state’s largest hotels announced late Friday that it was temporarily closing because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
(Balitang America) – By Lalaine Ignao. Tourism was the largest contributor to Hawaii’s economy — with about 250,000 visitors on average per day, who spent close to $18 billion a year.
(Honolulu Star-Advertiser) – By Allison Schaefers. “We’ve been getting calls from workers. Some of them say they have been trying every hour of every day,” said Bryant de Venecia, spokesman for the Unite Here Local 5 labor union. “We had one worker who began trying to apply on March 22 and only got in Monday, eight days later. The benefit is supposed to cover from the first day out of work, but timing can mean the difference between being able to eat or pay rent.”
(The Guardian) – By Dominic Rushe and Lauren Aratani. It has been over two weeks since Brandy Banaay was let go from her housekeeping job at the Doubletree Hotel Alana in Waikiki, Hawaii, yet the single mother of three has yet to successfully file for unemployment insurance. Whenever she tries to file on Hawaii’s website, it crashes.
(Honolulu Star-Advertiser) – By Andrew Gomes. Close to 100,000 Hawaii residents lost work this month, and for many the fear of losing their home has also arisen or may not be far off. The scary prospect is already real for Sheena Daquioag, a housekeeper at the Sheraton Waikiki who hasn’t been scheduled to work since the end of February.