Nearly 300 business owners -- including about 100 from Lahaina -- responded to the Maui Business Health Check survey, and about half of them said they need help and need it now.

Of the businesses who answered the survey by the Maui County Office of Economic Development, 43.8% of the businesses said that their financial health was “critical, on life support,” with only 3.1% reported they were “doing great, feeling great.”

“It’s extremely, extremely difficult, and that’s why the phrasing of critical, they’re in critical condition -- it’s very, very true,” said David Yamashiro, co-founder of Ululani’s Shave Ice.

The survey also found that more than half of the businesses faced challenges in retaining or hiring employees, with 1,936 job losses.

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