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Coronavirus restrictions will change in parts of Hawaii next week, but the Big Island is not yet one of them.
Governor David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi appeared together in a media session Friday afternoon, October 8, and announced that big events will return to O´ahu next week, with stipulations. Namely, participants will need to prove that they have been vaccinated and wear masks when events are taking place indoors, and sometimes even when they are outdoors.
The flashback, the first parts of which go into effect on October 13, will allow crowds of up to 1,000 spectators to return to University of Hawaii football games, although masks are required, food will not be served and children under 12 will not be allowed – at least for the first return game on Saturday 23 October.
What the restoration will not do is bring about changes in statewide mandates or have an impact on the Big Island.
“I want to be very clear, the inside-state mask mandate remains,” Ige said. “We should always be careful and respect the social gathering limits of no more than 10 indoors and 25 outdoors. We still require that state and county employees, as well as anyone entering state facilities, be fully vaccinated or tested regularly. And the Safe Travels program remains in place.
Mayor Mitch Roth paved the way on Monday, October 3 for apps that could allow groups of more than 25 people at outdoor sporting events, which could result in spectators returning to some venues, offering the proof that an effective COVID-19 mitigation protocol can be created and applied.
The State Department of Education (DOE) is responsible for COVID-19 restrictions at high school athletic events. Ige said he would meet with DOE officials next week on the matter.
The governor added that he had met with mayors of the neighboring island on Friday to discuss easing restrictions and that he expected setbacks in the days to come.
“In addition to the Order of O’ahu, I will also be signing Orders for Maui and Kaua’i, and we are in discussion with Mayor Roth,” Ige added. He did not specify the details of these discussions.
State and health officials justified the upcoming policy changes in Honolulu County by pointing to declining trends in the number of daily cases and a decrease in demand on limited health care resources. Hawaii.
According to data provided by the State Department of Health, a total of 69.3% of the population of Hawaii is fully vaccinated and 77.5% have initiated the process. Blangiardi said on Friday that 93% of the state’s eligible population (over the age of 12) are vaccinated.
Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawai´i, said the state had recruited more than 700 outside healthcare workers to handle the wave of Delta variants, which was at its worst in recent years. August and September.
In addition, the state of California has provided Hawaii with additional oxygen resources, and several health facilities across the islands have built tent extensions to deal with patient overflows.
Raethel added that as of Friday, 143 COVID-positive patients were hospitalized statewide, 45 were residing in an intensive care unit (ICU) and 31 were on ventilators. These are decreases of 67%, 55% and 64%, respectively, from the peaks recorded between early and mid-September.
“Given the steady improvement in these numbers over the past three weeks and the hope that the numbers will continue to improve, the hospital’s general managers and chief medical officers are reporting that hospital capacity is growing. is standardized, ”Raethel said. “Hospitals are still busy, but we have reached a point where the hospital census should no longer be a leading indicator of the need for restrictions. ”
“Hospital management believes it is time for heads of state to consider measures to safely open up to business. “
The rest of the modified or modified COVID protocols for Honolulu County are specific to the sites and the nature of the events themselves.
Weddings will be permitted, but must take place outside. Weddings and funerals will be allowed to serve food, but major sporting events will not. Blangiardi said the policy difference has to do with the desire to keep personal events as close to normal as possible.
Golf tournaments, as well as triathlons and other outdoor races, will be permitted, but will require vaccination of all participants and spectators.
Indoor events will be allowed from October 20, with crowds of up to 500 people or 50% of the venue’s maximum capacity, whichever is less. Proof of vaccination and wearing of face coverings during attendance will remain compulsory.
“Maybe, let’s just say it, we are being too cautious,” Blangiardi said of O´ahu’s approach to easing restrictions. “It has a lot to do with what we’ve been through over the past 60 days.”
“I think this is just the start.”
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