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FOLLOW-UP ON QUESTIONS FROM VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
On Tuesday, March 31, the Hawai’i Island Delegation hosted its first Virtual Town Hall to provide updates and yield questions from our community online. Mahalo to everyone who participated. From our community, there were a few questions I wanted to highlight and share my response. Please see the following:
There have been reports of people experiencing homelessness congregating in front of Hope Services and The Friendly Place in Kailua-Kona. What kind of resources are being offered to people experiencing homelessness to ensure they are able to eat, isolate, practice good hygiene, etc.?
- As a community resource, Hope Services Hawai’i is working to make homelessness on Hawai’i Island rare, brief, and nonrecurring. With new several new initiatives in lieu of COVID-19, Hope Services’ street medicine outreach team is conducting screening and assessments at encampments, providing prescription delivery, and ensuring continuity of health care treatment plans.
- In partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island, Hope Services participates in the Community Support Meal Initiative to provide free, prepared meals to residents at the homeless shelter in Kailua-Kona.
- Additionally, several State and County facilities have been reopened to provide residents experiencing homelessness with public access to hygiene facilities and comfort stations.
Families in South Kona from Honaunau to Ocean View, and in North Kona need to drive long distances to pick up meals at schools currently participating in the State of Hawai’i Department of Education (HIDOE) Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program for grab-and-go breakfast and lunch. What is being done to ensure families in rural areas have access to this program?
- The HIDOE is implementing the SSO program a few months earlier than scheduled to support keiki and their families during COVID-19. We are excited to announce that Kealakehe Intermediate School and Na’alehu Elementary School have been added to offer grab-and-go locations for breakfast and lunch pickup in Senate District 3. We are still advocating for further opportunities – including potential delivery services – to improve access of this program for rural communities in South Kona.
Many residents have experienced financial hardships associated with business closing in lieu of COVID-19. What is being done to ensure tenants who cannot make rent are not evicted at this time?
- According to the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), residents are still legally obligated to pay rent, however, if experiencing hardships, renters are advised to contact their landlords as soon as possible to discuss delayed or partial payment options. The Judiciary has stated that legal proceedings relating to summary possession or eviction have been postponed until Thursday, April 30. Therefore, no new eviction orders will be issued until after Thursday, April 30. Furthermore, landlords are prohibited from increasing rent during the state of emergency. For further information, please see the DCCA’s Landlord-Tenant Code FAQs.
Though there are mandatory 14-day self-quarantine periods for all international, domestic, and inter-island travel through Hawaii’s airports, there have been reports of tourists still congregating in public places. What is the general definition of “essential travel” and how are self-quarantine periods enforced?
- The general definition of “essential travel” are people who travel to perform essential functions are subject to self-quarantine while traveling, except when performing essential functions. Self-quarantine means travelers must remain in their place of lodging, order food by delivery, and not receive visitors. For general inquiries on what constitutes “essential travel”, please email: COVIDexemption@hawaii.gov.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding conflicting recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Federal, State and County localities. Should I wear a mask in public? Will this help prevent me from catching COVID-19?
- Yes. When you leave your place of residence, please wear protective covering like a mask over your nose and mouth. The CDC’s initial statement was that masks do not protect against COVID-19. Over the course of this crisis, the CDC has updated guidelines to encourage wearing any form of protective face, nose, and hands covering to help prevent already infected individuals from further spreading COVID-19.
I am still being expected to work and I don’t feel safe. Do I qualify for hazard pay? Will I be fired if I refuse to go to work?
- Unfortunately in Hawai’i, employees do not qualify for hazard pay through increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) urges businesses and employees to facilitate communication regarding updated workplace policies and responsibilities. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), however, requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19 from April 1 to December 31, 2020. For more information on situations that qualify for emergency leave, please see the United States Department of Labor’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act fact sheet.
As gas prices are in a free-fall around the world and at large corporations such as Costco, I have noticed some local businesses have not followed suit. Are there protections for price gauging during this time? How do I report price gauging?
- During the COVID-19 crisis, prices are legally frozen and businesses that markup prices to that take advantage of desperate customers are considered illegal price gouging. To report illegal price gouging activities, individuals should send a photo of the receipt and other records of sale; name of business, location of the business (county, city, area); and details of the item purchased to: ocp@dcca.hawaii.gov.
Our next Big Island Legislators Virtual Town Hall will be tomorrow, Wednesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m., a link will be provided through my Facebook page.
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