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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency in several regions of the country, including Tokyo. While the declaration gives local governors the power to close schools and some other public institutions, individual behavior is another matter.

South Korea appears to be a relative success story when it comes to dealing with COVID-19. On Friday, the number of the cases in the country passed 10,000. But even though South Korea has “flattened the curve” of the spread of the virus, authorities are still increasing their prevention measures.

Billions in federal economic aid are on their way to Hawaii. And a locally-based payroll expert helped write some of the rules.

Face masks have suddenly become a focus of discussion around the country. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is the latest to “strongly recommend” residents wear them while outside. He’s talking about re-usable cloth masks. But the disposable kind are part of a new production push in Asia.

Some 161,000 Hawai’i residents filed for unemployment in March.  The University of Hawai‘i’s economic research arm, UHERO, projected unemployment could temporarily spike to 25 percent due to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.  In Hawai‘i, however, some companies need even more workers.

With economists predicting short-term unemployment rates as high as 25 percent, the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic will dwarf the Great Recession.

Some of the many casualties from the coronavirus have been popular musicians, including previous guests of HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence, and in some cases, their parents.

State officials say Hawaii has 560 ventilators — machines that can help people breathe and that could play a key role if the state faces a surge in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Ventilators are a focus of concern in many cities in the United States and locations around the world — including India.

The state is scrambling to identify enough medical professionals to care for a potential surge of coronavirus patients in Hawaii. However, some doctors are concerned that the outbreak will further worsen the state's long-standing physician shortage.

Another major musician has lost their life to the coronavirus today. Adam Schlesinger was 52, and wrote music for TV, movies, and worked with many other artists, but may be best known as co-founder of the alternative group Fountains of Wayne, that had the early 2000’s hit, “Stacy’s Mom”.

Countries around the world are focused on “flattening the curve” of the spread of the coronavirus. In Australia, new rules have gone into effect as part of that effort.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is urging President Donald Trump to stop all non-essential travel coming to Hawaiʻi in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Caldwell made the announcement yesterday after expressing frustration over visitors continuing to arrive to the islands without any plans for self-quarantine.

Civic participation is a challenge during the time of coronavirus. Some agencies are finding ways to still include the public, despite Gov. David Ige's emergency order suspending the requirement among other state laws.

While tourists are still emptying out of Hawaii, they are now being shut out of another popular oceanfront vacation destination. One of the most popular beach attractions in Thailand is totally closing down to all travelers.

Updated: 3/31/20, 10:42 a.m.

It’s been less than a week since a statewide stay-at-home order largely shut down Hawaii’s economy in an effort to contain the coronavirus. The latest economic projections indicate restarting activity will take much longer.