Chinatown businesses in Hawaii hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic

Businesses in Chinatown have been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and homelessness has added to their problems. Pictured is a homeless woman panhandling at Kekaulike Market on Monday.

A homeless woman who goes by the name Royce is seen panhandling in Chinatown on Monday. Royce has been on the streets for 30 years, 20 of them in Chinatown. She said if she didn’t panhandle, she wouldn’t make it. Royce also said it was harder to make it as there is less traffic due to the coronavirus.

Lori Soldano posed for a photograph in Chinatown on Monday. Soldano was a beauty consultant at Bloomingdale’s before being furloughed due to the coronavirus shutdowns.

Barinna Poon, general manager of the Maunakea Marketplace in Chinatown, stood in the central courtyard area on Monday.

Kekaulike Market was empty on Monday where usually a lot of fresh fish is sold.

Some businesses in Chinatown started to open on the Kekaulike Mall walkway as seen on Monday.

Many businesses in Chinatown were hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some shops opened on Monday.

People shopped at the businesses that started to open on the Kekaulike Mall walkway and King Street on Monday.

Daniel Cuevas, 71, has been living on the streets for 40 years. He got emotional on Monday as he talked about how hard it is living on the streets.