Thu. 7/2/20: COVID-19 update

PROTESTING JOB CUTS AT THE STATE CAPITOL

Dozens of UNITE HERE Local 5 hospitality workers, non-union hotel workers, and community supporters sign-waved and chanted to protest the job cuts at reopening hotels. View the photos on our Facebook page.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Hospitality workers protest job cuts as hotels plan to reopen – KITV

Excerpt: “UNITE HERE Local 5 says some hotels are permanently laying off workers and asking them to reapply for their jobs once they reopen, so hospitality workers, non-union hotel workers and other community members are waiving signs and chanting Thursday afternoon.”

The Cash Cliff Is Coming, And It’s Trouble For Everyone – Reuters.

This article features Judith and Jose Ramirez from the Sheraton Waikiki.

Excerpt: “Judith Ramirez is bracing for July. That’s when the hotel housekeeper and her electrician husband ― who have both been out of work for three months ― expect their combined unemployment benefits to drop by more than half, and their deferred $1,500 monthly mortgage payment on their Honolulu home to come due. It’s a cash cliff millions of Americans face this summer as the emergency benefits ― which lifted U.S. consumer incomes by a record 10.8% in April ― expire.”

Coronavirus cases are rising in 40 of 50 U.S. states – Associated Press

Excerpt: “The number of confirmed coronavirus cases per day in the U.S. climbed to an all-time high of more than 50,000 today.”

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announces mandate to wear face coverings indoors –  Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Excerpt: “Mayor Kirk Caldwell today announced an amendment to Honolulu’s emergency order that mandates face coverings for indoor businesses and government buildings, as well as outdoors, where physical distancing is not practicable.”

UH Releases Plan For ‘Unprecedented Semester’ – Honolulu Civil Beat. 

Excerpt: “UH is working to partner with local hotels to provide places for students arriving in the fall to spend their 14-day quarantine if on-campus spaces are unavailable. There are no contracts in place yet, Lassner said.”

Opinion: The role of labour activism in Vietnam’s coronavirus success – By Joe Buckley, published in Equal Times. 

Vietnam has had 334 cases of COVID-19 total. The U.S. had over 2,800,000 cases and over 50,000 yesterday alone. Workers have in several cases done wildcat strikes over safety concerns and won things like adequate PPE, testing and compensation.

The Trump Administration Wants Workers to Foot the Bill for Going Back to Work – Jacobin. 

Excerpt: “Many businesses want their workers to be screened for the virus before returning to workplaces, where they could unknowingly spread the disease to coworkers and customers. But thanks to a new Trump administration guidance, if businesses do require their employees to undergo coronavirus tests before being rehired, employers or their employees — not health insurers — could end up paying for it.

Airbnb to enforce TVR listings – The Garden Island. 

Airbnb appears to be agreeing to do something on Kauai that they have said for years they either couldn’t or wouldn’t do anywhere ever – collect address information from hosts and turn it over to county enforcement agencies.

COVID Cases (today’s cases compared to June 28, 2020)

World: Cases:  10.8M (+500k). Deaths: 520k (+15k).

USA: Cases: 2.73M (+140k).  Deaths: 128k (+2k).

Hawaii: Cases: 946(+46).  Deaths: 18 (+0).  Hospitalized: 116 (+5). Recovered: 746 (+24)