By Alfred Acenas
EBC Hawaii-Pacific Bureau
HONOLULU (Eagle News) – As the daily count of new COVID-19 cases in the Aloha State consistently remains in double-digits while almost half the population becomes fully vaccinated, Governor David Ige announced his decision to lift the requirement for wearing masks outdoors, effective immediately.
The governor also announced that, beginning June 1, ocean sport competitions such as surfing, canoeing, and swimming events among others will be allowed once again.
“The virus is still circulating in our community, and unvaccinated people are particularly at risk,” said Ige. “Until more people are vaccinated, we must continue to take precautions indoors and outdoors in large groups for the safety of our loved ones, neighbors and communities.”
Furthermore, Hawaii will start issuing permits again for ocean activities and counties will issue permits for the use of their parks. Organizers and participants are still expected to follow health and safety protocols in order to protect each other.
“The public health measures that we implemented for the State of Hawaii, along with the success of our vaccine program and the cooperation of our residents across the state, have brought us to this point. We made these decisions based on the data and guidance from our public health officials,” said the governor.
“Credit for this progress goes to the people of Hawaii who have cared for one another by following the health guidelines and rolling up their sleeves to be vaccinated,” Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino said. “As a lifelong fan of youth sports, I am especially excited to see that kids will be back on their surfboards or in outrigger canoes again.”
Meanwhile, Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth expressed gratitude for the governor’s support to the counties.
“We’re excited to make significant strides toward normalcy by allowing ocean sports to resume. They are a staple of our island communities and play a paramount role in the health, safety, and sanity of our residents. We now know that the risk of transmitting COVID-19 in open air spaces, where adequate social distancing can be practiced, is little to none, and we thank the Governor for supporting this decision,” Roth said.
As for the Island of Oahu, which houses roughly 68% of Hawaii’s overall population, Governor Ige approved the request to lift canopy restrictions and allow tournaments in city parks, effective on June 1.
“We are grateful multi-team sports tournaments like baseball and soccer, canoe regattas, and ocean sports competitions are once again allowed and just in time for summer,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. “As the community continues to get vaccinated, we believe the outdoor sports and activities are safe and we will continue to work with the governor and state on easing additional restrictions.”
Finally, the governor approved the County of Kauai’s updated Business & Recreation Guidelines tier chart. The new chart will add a Tier 5 and a Tier 6, which will further loosen restrictions when Hawaii reaches COVID-19 vaccination milestones.
“We are grateful to the governor for allowing us the opportunity to incorporate our vaccine rate into our COVID response plan as we know that vaccines are the best way for our community to protect itself from this virus,” County Mayor Derek Kawakami mentioned. He also believes that Kauai’s plan could be used statewide to potentially loosen other restrictions moving forward.
According to officials, Ige is expected to make changes to the Safe Travels program sometime in June. Another consideration is to provide quarantine exceptions to transpacific travelers who were vaccinated in Hawaii. In addition, the state continues to work with third-party verification services and plans to offer the same quarantine exceptions to travelers vaccinated in other states later this summer.
Mask wearing is still highly recommended outdoors when in large groups, while the indoor mask mandate remains in place.
(Eagle News Service)