Question: We are planning to travel abroad in June to multiple countries and have a short window to reconsider without losing too much money. After looking forward to this trip for so long, we are now hesitant, due to COVID-19 again. Where can we find current information for multiple countries? There is so much advice on the internet — too much — that our heads are spinning.

Answer: Starting Monday, you should be able to get decisive information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is updating its Travel Health Notice system for international destinations to make it unmistakably clear when travelers should avoid certain countries due to COVID-19. The revised system reserves Level 4 alerts (don’t go) for special circumstances, “such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or healthcare infrastructure collapse,” the CDC says.

The revised system, to be posted at cdc.gov, gives travelers “a more actionable alert for when they should not travel to a certain destination (Level 4), regardless of vaccination status,” it said.

Q: When do you think data for the total number of Hawaii deaths in 2021 will be available? I’m seeking a number for all deaths, not just COVID-19 deaths or any other particular cause.

A: Preliminary data is already available and shows that 12,968 deaths were recorded in Hawaii in 2021, according to the state Department of Health’s Office of Health Status Monitoring. That’s 941 more deaths than were recorded in Hawaii in 2020.

Preliminary 2021 death statistics by county and statewide are posted at 808ne.ws/prelim. A far more detailed report for 2020 can be found at hhdw.org.

Q: Recently, a friend and I, both using our legal disability parking placards, parked our cars at parking meters by Iolani Palace while visiting the state Capitol. Both of us had our placards clearly displayed on our rear-view mirrors. When we returned a few hours later, both of us found parking tickets on our cars. We were unaware that the placards no longer provide free parking for the disabled. When was the law changed and why? And what are the new requirements regarding use of these parking placards?

A: The change took effect last July 1, after the state Legislature passed a law in 2019 tightening disability parking rules. You can still use your standard disability parking permit to park in accessible spaces reserved for the disabled, but the parking is no longer free; the placard is intended to provide access, not a freebie on the assumption a disabled person can’t afford to pay. Now, there is a different kind of pass — called the Disabled Paid Parking Exemption Permit — that provides free parking for disabled drivers who are physically unable to feed the meter or make a payment at an unattended parking lot. In other words, their inability to pay stems from disability, not poverty. If you believe you are eligible for a DPPEP and would like more information, go to health.hawaii.gov/dcab, call 808-586-8121 or email dcab@doh.hawaii.gov.

Q: Regarding the Oahu Transient Accommodations Tax, since we can only pay it to the city, does that mean we have to file a separate tax return with the city too?

A: No. Taxpayers subject to OTAT must file Forms TA-1 and TA-2 with Hawaii’s state Department of Taxation. They don’t file separate OTAT returns with the city, according to the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services.

As your question indicated, OTAT is paid to the city, and cannot be combined with a state-level Transient Accommodations Tax payment made to the state.

Q: Are the results out yet for the red-light studies?

A: No. The state Department of Transportation said in February that the results of engineering studies to decide where to install red-light safety cameras on Oahu would be posted on the DOT website as they were completed; 14 intersections were being considered. None of the studies had been posted as of Friday.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.