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Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami joined the COVID-19 Care Conversation to talk about the Garden Island’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kauai has not had any new coronavirus cases since April 4, which the mayor said is largely due to the fact that local residents have complied with the country’s strict stay-at-home order. Kauai has a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in place, the only island to do so, and has been vigilant about requiring masks for all commerce, and enforcing the 14-day quarantine order for visitors.
Kawakami said he is waiting for Gov. David Ige to announce the state’s plans beyond April 30th, and said he expects the lockdown to be extended. He also said that he does not support lifting the inter-island quarantine, and believes that it will be a long time before visitors will be able to travel freely to Kauai.
“People shouldn’t be traveling. Period. Unless you absolutely have to,” he said. “Right now is a time to let the virus take its course and then for us to slowly emerge and build the local economy.”
Watch here and submit your questions through our Facebook page. Be sure to join us Monday when Gov. David Ige will be our guest.
The COVID-19 Care Conversation, sponsored by Hawai’i Executive Collaborative, airs live every weekday at 10:30 a.m. on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page. Yunji de Nies and Ryan Kalei Tsuji discuss the latest news, resources and community concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in Hawaii.
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