Hawaii News Now

The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. is expected to surge past 80,000 today. Also, state and federal officials are investigating a mystery illness in kids that's believed to be linked to the coronavirus.

5 p.m. Newscast (May 8, 2020) by Hawaii News Now

In eyeing how to restart tourism, some suggest COVID-19 tests for visitors.

The U.S. unemployment rate has hit nearly 15%, the highest since the Great Depression. And, here in Hawaii, retailers on two islands were allowed to reopen yesterday, but it wasn't business as usual.

With tens of thousands of Oahu residents unemployed, the city is launching a new emergency relief program to provide up to $1,000 a month to families in need.

The funds can go toward housing payments, utilities or child care.

“We all know someone who has been impacted. They’re our neighbors,” Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said, in a news conference. “We are putting people first here.”

Thousands of laid off workers frustrated with trying to file weekly certifications for their unemployment claims are being encouraged to instead file on designated days.

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is kicking off an alphabetical system to ease the burden on the antiquated technology that has crashed multiple times over the past few weeks.

Starting next week, those whose last name starts with the letters A through G should file on Mondays.

Those whose last name starts with H through O should file on Tuesdays.

Finally, Wednesdays are for P through Z.

As the mainland faces a beef shortage, Hawaii farmers have a surplus of crops due to businesses being shut down.

Top stories from across Hawaii and around the world, as seen on the 5 p.m. news broadcast from Hawaii News Now.

In a major communications fumble, the Governor’s Office on Tuesday night said retailers would not be allowed to reopen on Oahu and Maui this week as the governor had said earlier in the day.

Instead, retailers on Oahu are now not allowed to reopen until May 15.

And in Maui County, retailers and shopping malls have no date for reopening.

There was no immediate explanation for the mix-up so it wasn’t immediately clear if the order was changed based on concerns expressed by county mayors — or if Gov. David Ige failed to clarify county-specific differences.

The mix-up added to confusion about the governor’s reopening announcement and left Hawaii businesses scrambling for confirmation on when they can actually reopen their doors.

The governor has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon.

In a mid-day news conference Tuesday, Ige said that shopping malls, retailers and a host of other businesses statewide would be allowed to reopen Thursday as part of a “phase 1” reboot of the economy.

After saying that retail stores could open on Thursday, Gov. David Ige issued a press release hours later that said retailers on Oahu and Maui County will not reopen this week.