Mon. 6/8/20: COVID-19 Update
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
‘I’m squeaking by right now’: voices of America’s unemployment crisis (The Guardian, June 6, 2020)
This article features several workers, including UNITE HERE members like Sheraton Waikiki worker Andrea Grabow, and their struggle with the unemployment crisis.
Weekend COVID cases rise as state figures out a plan to welcome visitors back (KHON, June 8, 2020)
20 new cases were reported in Hawaii over the weekend. Governor Ige is planning to announce soon whether the 14-day mandatory quarantine for travelers will be extended.
Outdoor dining available to help O’ahu restaurants get back on their feet (KITV, June 5, 2020)
Now that restaurants in Oahu are open again, any restaurant abutting city and county property such as parks or sidewalks will have privilege of setting up outdoor dining. This includes some relaxed liquor license rules. The restaurants still have to allow 36″ clearance for sidewalks and other restrictions. Full details here.
Daily visitor arrivals into Hawaii near 600 Thursday (Star Advertiser, June 5, 2020)
546 recreational visitors came in one day despite the 14-day quarantine.
Program will close main Waikiki thoroughfare to vehicles 4 Sundays this summer (Hawaii News Now, June 5, 2020)
Kalakaua Avenue will be closed from 6am to 12pm on four Sundays to create a pedestrian thoroughfare for residents to visit, shop and eat and presumably have free reign to walk around.
Bars, movie theaters and gyms on Oahu given a date for reopening (Hawaii News Now, June 5, 2020)
These businesses (Including “Indoor attractions” such as “bowling alleys, arcades, mini golf, movie theatres, museums, and other similar indoor entertainment facilities”) would be allowed to reopen on June 19 with certain conditions and limitations such as following social distancing rules.
The Head Of Hawaii’s Unemployment Office Is On Leave (Civil Beat, June 5, 2020)
No details on the nature of leave, though it’s mentioned he got death threats and is escorted to and from work by law enforcement. Thousands of people still haven’t gotten their UI claims.
To Break the Power of the Police, We Need to Mobilize the Power of Labor (June 3, 2020)
Excerpt: “Some unions, including the ATU, have given a glimpse of the best of American labor — one at the forefront of fighting all forms of oppression. In Brooklyn, when the police attempted to use a city bus last week to transport arrested protesters, the bus driver stepped off and refused to drive it. His union backed him up. In Minneapolis, after a rank-and-file bus driver declined to transport police, his ATU local issued a statement affirming members’ right to refuse to assist police operations. The national Transport Workers Union (TWU), which represents workers from San Francisco to New York, issued a statement saying their drivers are under no obligation to act as police chauffeurs.”
World: Cases: 7.1M (+500k). Deaths: 406k (+12k).
USA: Cases: 1.96M (+70k). Deaths: 111k (+1.9k).
Hawaii: Cases: 676 (+12). Deaths: 17 (+0). Hospitalized: 84 (+1). Recovered: 618 (+4)
