Report: Nearly 900 Honolulu businesses shut down by pandemic

HONOLULU — An economic report found nearly 900 Honolulu businesses have closed temporarily or permanently since the beginning of March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The second-quarter Yelp Economic Average report considered trends concerning the economic effects of the pandemic, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.

The report said 10.6% of the 899 closures between March 1 and July 10 are permanent, including 95 restaurants and 91 retail businesses in Honolulu.

Gov. David Ige announced July 13 he would wait until Sept. 1 to waive a 14-day quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers who test negative for COVID-19.

“The pushback of the reopening of tourism in Hawaii will continue to have an impact,” said Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

The chamber conducted a survey with the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization at the end of April that found 40% of businesses said they cannot continue to operate without the state’s tourism industry reopening, Menor-McNamara said.

“Now that the deadline is extended, many businesses are running out of funds,” Menor-McNamara said.

Menor-McNamara said she anticipates more closures with the end of the $600 weekly payment of additional federal unemployment money this month and the Paycheck Protection Program filing deadline Aug. 8.

“We’ll likely have other business impacted that service these restaurant and retail businesses that are all in the supply chain,” she said.

Yelp’s survey includes U.S. businesses that were rated closed March 1 by an owner changing business hours or placing a COVID-19 banner on the company’s page on the Yelp website.

Yelp said the survey results only included closures updated directly by business owners or vetted by the California-based website company, which provides a popular platform for user reviews of businesses.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.