A series of then-and-now photos show the impact of the coronavirus on tourism and traffic in Hawaii.
It’s a Hawaii no one has seen before. Empty beaches, empty roads, only a smattering of people going to essential jobs or paddling out for a quick “individual” surf session.
On April 10, only 424 people flew to Hawaii — down from roughly 30,000 arrivals the year before.
Here’s what that looks like on Oahu.
According to an ongoing survey from University of Hawaii, most people are staying home. Only 3% of the first 11,000 respondents said they kept attending social gatherings, even after the stay-at-home order in late March.
Hawaii health officials have said they expect people will need to continue staying home until at least June.
Having a system for testing visitors for the virus is key to restarting Hawaii’s tourism industry quickly, according to a report by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.
By the first week of April, more than 160,000 Hawaii residents applied for unemployment. The industries hit the hardest: accommodation and hospitality.
Traffic counts have dropped by half along H-1 freeway’s most heavily traveled corridors compared to last year, according to the state Department of Transportation.
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