News Releases from Department of Health

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Harm Reduction Services Branch (HRSB) is pleased to announce Kunane Dreier as the recipient of the 2025 Suzanne Richmond-Crum Award. The award will be presented during the annual World AIDS Day ceremony at Church of Crossroads in Honolulu, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1. ...
Read More DOH ANNOUNCES RECIPIENT OF 2025 SUZANNE RICHMOND-CRUM AWARD ON WORLD AIDS DAY

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) is monitoring a positive wastewater sample for the measles virus, the first-ever wastewater detection of the virus for Maui County. The samples were collected Nov. 18, 2025, at two sites in Central and West Maui County, and tested through the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS). The virus detected is the naturally occurring type that ...
Read More DOH MONITORING FIRST WASTEWATER DETECTION OF MEASLES IN MAUI COUNTY

HONOLULU — The West Coast Health Alliance continues to strongly recommend vaccines to protect our children, noting that rigorous research of millions of people in multiple countries over decades provides high quality evidence that vaccines are not linked to autism. The Alliance is deeply concerned about inaccurate claims to the contrary recently posted on the federal ...
Read More WEST COAST HEALTH ALLIANCE STANDS WITH SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE: VACCINES ARE NOT LINKED TO AUTISM

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) has identified a new travel-related case of dengue virus on Oʻahu, bringing the total number of dengue cases to 14 in the state in 2025 (one on Maui, 13 on Oʻahu). The affected individual in this current case was exposed to the virus while traveling in a ...
Read More DOH REPORTS 14TH TRAVEL-RELATED DENGUE VIRUS CASE OF 2025

HONOLULU — Trace levels of selenium have been detected for the first time in water samples collected from the County of Maui Department of Water Supply’s Lahaina water system (Public Water System HI0000214), which serves the Lahaina and Napili-Honokōwai areas on the island of Maui. The detections of selenium are below the U.S. Environmental Protection ...
Read More TRACE LEVELS OF SELENIUM DETECTED IN LAHAINA WATER SYSTEM

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation (OMCCR) amended Chapter (Interim Rules) 11-850 Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules (HAR) regarding medical cannabis dispensaries to improve the medical cannabis patient experience and to provide for the protection of the health and safety of qualifying patients and the general public. The ...
Read More DOH UPDATES HAR CHAPTER (INTERIM RULES) 11-850, MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARIES

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Food Safety Branch authorized the reopening of Chef Chai, issuing a green “pass” placard after its new owner applied for and received a food establishment permit. Chef Chai received a red placard on Nov. 12 for operating without a valid food establishment permit. The restaurant, located at ...
Read More DOH AUTHORIZES REOPENING OF CHEF CHAI IN HONOLULU

HILO, Hawaiʻi — The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Food Safety Branch authorized the reopening of White Guava Cafe, issuing a green “pass” placard during a follow-up inspection on Nov. 13.  White Guava Cafe received a red placard on Oct. 16. The food establishment, located at 54 E. Pūʻainakō St., in Hilo, is operated by ...
Read More DOH AUTHORIZES REOPENING OF WHITE GUAVA CAFE IN HILO

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Food Safety Branch (FSB) issued a red placard and immediately shut down Chef Chai, located at 1009 Kapiʻolani Blvd. On arrival for a routine inspection on Nov. 12, the inspector discovered that the establishment has a new owner and does not have a valid food establishment permit. The food establishment, operated by Pomaikai Culinary ...
Read More DOH ISSUES RED PLACARD TO CHEF CHAI

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Food and Drug Branch (FDB) is alerting residents that all ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula products have been recalled by ByHeart Inc. due to potential contamination by Clostridium botulinum. The recalled products are under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the agency has ...
Read More DOH ALERTS PUBLIC TO EXPANDED BYHEART INFANT FORMULA RECALL

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) Food and Drug Branch (FDB) is alerting residents to a recall issued by ByHeart Inc. for select lots of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula product, due to potential contamination of Clostridium botulinum. The recalled product is under investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and ...
Read More DOH ALERTS PUBLIC ABOUT RECALL OF BYHEART INFANT FORMULA DUE TO POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION

HONOLULU — To protect public health, ensure consumer transparency and maintain the integrity of the local hemp marketplace, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation (OMCCR) is launching an outreach and education initiative to encourage voluntary compliance among hemp retailers and distributors, including online and out-of-state businesses. Act 269, ...
Read More DOH LAUNCHES OUTREACH AND EDUCATION INITIATIVE AHEAD OF 2026 HEMP RETAIL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT