Five years later, COVID lockdown consequences remain
HONOLULU (KHON2) — On March 25, 2020 Hawaiʻi's stay-at-home order took effect. It was meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, but the repercussions of the pandemic-era decisions are still being felt five years later.
The restaurant industry was hit particularly hard according to Hawaii Restaurant Association Executive Director Sheryl Matsuoka.
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'At the time, they're thinking, we're going to ride this out and we'll be okay,' Matsuoka said.
But it wasn't. The restrictions lasted until February 2021. Matsuoka said more than 80 restaurants shut down due to the pandemic and many continue to struggle.
'You're seeing restaurants still, their hours are still reduced,' she explained. 'And you see a lot of the restaurants that are trying to stay open, or the smaller mom and pops, those are the ones that you know are really trying to still figure it out with the rising cost of food and utilities and supplies and rent.'
Brick and mortar retail shops also took a major hit.'We saw a lot of local businesses, especially the smaller ones, taking out second mortgages on their home, taking out personal loans, home equity loans, anything to keep their doors open,' Retail Merchants of Hawaii President Tina Yamaki said.
Yamaki said many folded under the weight of that debt and the drastic shift to online shopping was the nail in the coffin for businesses that weren't able to pivot.
According to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, 25% of Hawaiʻi businesses closed in the first six months of the pandemic.
Some are gone for good, but many have since reopened.
Most shops and restaurants that survived are now facing another unforeseen consequence of the pandemic: a worker shortage.
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'During the pandemic, people figured out a way that they could make ends meet,' Mitsuoka explained. 'And they're not interested in coming back.'
The pandemic fallout isn't limited to businesses. COVID is still around. Dr. Dominic Chow, a physician at Queen's Medical Center's Long COVID Care Center says long COVID is very real, impacting 10 to 15% of people who catch the virus.
'We have about 4,000 to 8,000 people with long COVID,' Chow said.
Dr. Christine Akamine, an infectious disease physician, said they are continuing to look for answers regarding the illness.
'We're still trying to understand the mechanism by which long COVID is caused,' Akamine explained. 'We're still trying to understand the best ways to diagnose long COVID, and we're still trying to understand the best treatments for long COVID.'
There is a saying that hindsight is 20/20. Dr. Lee Buenconsejo-Lum worked with the health department during the pandemic, and said that hard calls had to be made.
'Some really tough decisions had to be made. But we came out with the lowest mortality right,' she said. 'But we are still seeing repercussions for sure. So then how do you decide?'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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