Gov. David Ige on Tuesday announced he intends to keep certain restrictions related to COVID-19 in place while giving counties the authority to make their own pandemic emergency orders and rules.

Starting Dec. 1, counties will be free to impose rules, he said, without prior approval from him or the director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Also, statewide capacity limits pertaining to social gatherings, restaurants, bars, gyms and other establishments will end in December.

The pivot signals Ige’s overall optimism regarding Hawaii’s progress in tackling pandemic challenges, and signals he’s ready to more fully reopen Hawaii’s economy after imposing a series of emergency restrictions that have stretched on for 20 months.

“This is really just a return to the normal emergency situations in which counties are lead, and the state provides guidance and support,” Ige said. “Emergencies are usually county-specific and county-led, with state support.”

HI-EMA will continue to support counties, and the state Department of Health will continue to provide public health guidance and coordinate the state’s response to the ongoing pandemic.

During a news conference with county mayors held Tuesday afternoon, Ige said he would sign a new emergency proclamation Monday with the latest changes effective through Jan. 28.

Ige plans to hold onto measures he says have proved to be effective, including the current Safe Travels program, the statewide indoor masking mandate, and vaccination or testing requirements for state employees as well as contractors and visitors to state facilities.

The state will no longer offer 10-day travel quarantine exemptions to critical infrastructure workers.

Also, Ige is not planning further extensions to renewals for driver’s licenses and instruction permits, which are set to end Monday.

Safe Travels, which requires domestic travelers to provide proof of COVID-­19 vaccination or a negative test no more than 72 hours prior to entering Hawaii, will remains an important way of keeping the community safe, Ige said.

About two-thirds of travelers to the islands are fully vaccinated, he said, while the rest either opt for pre-travel testing or the 10-day quarantine upon arrival.

Additionally, Ige said he will continue to impose the indoor masking mandate, and offered no timeline for when it would be dropped.

Ige said that in his personal conversations with other state governors over the past few weeks, their No. 1 comment has been that they regretted dropping their mask mandates, and that doing so too early contributed to coronavirus surges in their states.

“In speaking with health care professionals,” said Ige, “they continue to say wearing a mask indoors especially in crowded situations does help limit the spread of COVID-19.”

Ige also stressed that Hawaii is open for business, noting that tourism traffic, which flatlined at the height of the pandemic, is continuing to rebound.

Domestic travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels, Ige said, noting that on Saturday there were upward of 36,000 arrivals. Meanwhile, still slow-paced international travel is expected to pick up in coming months, with flights to and from Australia resuming in mid-December and continued efforts in the works with travel partners from Canada, Japan and South Korea.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority welcomed the announcements.

“These steps serve to revitalize our visitor industry at an appropriate time, with our state’s vaccination rate ranked among the highest in the nation, coupled with the health safeguards for domestic travelers that are required by Hawaii’s Safe Travels program,” said HTA President and Chief Executive Officer John De Fries in a statement.

“The modified federal restrictions on international arrivals and the continuation of Hawaii’s indoor mask mandate provide additional safeguards.”

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced, effective Dec. 1, the city will drop the 6-foot distancing requirement for restaurants and that large events will be allowed at full capacity, with food and beverages. But all in this bracket will be subject to the city’s Safe Access O‘ahu program, which requires entrants to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-­19 test within the past 48 hours.

De Fries noted that Oahu’s lifting of gathering capacity will also help the Hawai‘i Convention Center and other resorts resume events.

Ige thanked Hawaii residents for their sacrifices, ranging from wearing masks to postponing large family milestone events. He reiterated pride in the state’s response to the public health threat and asserted that it’s time to move further forward with economic recovery.

While Ige said he expects a modest increase in COVID-­19 cases after the holidays, he said the state’s health care system is prepared. The system, he said, has recovered from the impacts of the delta surge during the summer months.

“We are seeing the number of COVID patients in our hospitals return to the pre-surge numbers,” he said. “So we know hospitals still continue to be rather full with regular patients, but we don’t see and we don’t believe that the current virus cases would be a huge, overwhelming concern.”

Even so, Ige said urged public health vigilance over the holidays.

“We are at a better place than we were three months ago, but we are still not finished with the pandemic,” he said.

“As you know, we are seeing surges all across Europe, we’re seeing surges in South Korea, New Zealand and other international destinations. So we do know that when we drop our guards, we can see a surge in cases, and then we have to take action to keep our community healthy and safe.”

He said COVID-19 testing remains an important part of the state’s strategy, and he hopes to procure a supply of rapid antigen testing for Hawaii residents from the federal government.