All Hawaii counties drop COVID restrictions; statewide mask mandate still in place

Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii counties on Monday joined Maui County in repealing their last remaining COVID- 19 restrictions, which ranged from limiting gathering sizes to requiring proof of vaccination or negative test result to enter certain establishments.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced at a news conference that Safe Access O‘ahu, which requires people to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter restaurants and certain other businesses, would expire at 11:59 p.m. Saturday.

“This is a day we waited for for the last two years,” he said. “We feel very confident that going forward our numbers look really good for Oahu.”

Private businesses would still be allowed to institute their own vaccine or testing requirement if they chose, Blangiardi added.

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami announced in a news release that he was repealing the county’s last emergency rules effective today.

“I thank you all for your patience, your willingness to adapt at a moment’s notice, your innovative solutions, and your teamwork to overcome the most extraordinary and unprecedented challenges over the past two years,” Kawakami said in the release.

“While COVID-19 still exists, we have the knowledge and tools we need to keep ourselves, our families, and our community healthy and safe. Let’s not forget these best practices as we move forward together in our lives beyond COVID-19.”

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth issued his own announcement Monday saying he had declared an end to all COVID-19-related emergency rules in the county, including limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings.

“We are proud to announce that we will be rescinding all county rules effective immediately in an effort to shift our focus from recovery versus response,” he said in a news release.

“We have come a long way together and I look forward to where we go together.”

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino on Friday announced an end to the county’s COVID-19 restrictions effective today, along with the reopening of three camping sites and most community centers with capacities of up to 300 people.

Victorino had already dropped vaccination or negative test requirements for restaurants, bars and gyms on Feb. 21.

However, the state’s indoor mask mandate remains in effect across the islands, as does the vaccination or testing requirement for state and county government workers.

Gov. David Ige announced Friday that masks will still be required when indoors through March 25 but said he would continue to evaluate the situation and consult the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance.

Hawaii is the only state that has not lifted or announced the expiration of indoor mask rules.

New COVID-19 cases in Hawaii continue on a steep decline following the winter’s record-breaking surge fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant. The state Department of Health on Monday reported no new deaths and 142 new corona­virus cases statewide, including 65 on Oahu, 30 in Kauai, 29 on Hawaii island, 17 on Maui and one Hawaii resident diagnosed outside the state.

The seven-day average of new daily cases was 202, and the test positivity rate was 2.7%, DOH said.

Eighty-nine patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, with 12 in ICU beds and eight on ventilators. Hospitalizations during the omicron spike peaked Jan. 24 at 400.

DOH also reported that 76.4% of Hawaii residents were fully vaccinated, with Oahu leading the way with 80% of its population vaccinated. Oahu also had the lowest test positivity rate at 2.6%.

Blangiardi said that starting Sunday, and for the first time since March 4, 2020, Honolulu will be free of any city emergency orders related to the pandemic.

The Safe Access O‘ahu program required businesses such as restaurants, fitness centers and events that served food to verify employees and customers were fully vaccinated or had a negative COVID-19 test within the past 48 hours.

Declining case numbers and the large segment of the community that is vaccinated and “boosted” were factors that led the city to lift its remaining restrictions.

“The people of our island have fought back bravely against this. As the numbers reflect, everybody has done everything that they possibly could to demonstrate a genuine concern to take care of themselves, their families and the greater good,” Blangiardi said.

The city will also begin ramping down isolation services for those who need a place to quarantine away from household members. The quarantine center at West Loch will close today, and the location at the Harbor Arms Hotel will close at the end of March.

“Even though we’re letting our emergency order sunset, we understand that COVID is not over,” Blangiardi said. “But we’re going to go forward living with this disease, and we’ll try to act as responsibly as we can.”

The West Loch location was originally meant as an affordable-housing project for homeless people. Blangiardi did not have an exact date for when it would be ready for permanent residents.

“We like to do that sooner rather than later,” he said. “We purposely set that up for a homeless situation, and it’s really a great facility.”

Blangiardi also said that while there are no immediate plans to end the city’s free COVID-19 testing sites, those will likely begin to wind down as time goes on.

The mayor said decisions on the indoor mask rule and other state mandates are solely left up to the governor, but he predicted many people will continue to wear masks even after the rule is lifted since many continue to wear masks outdoors although not required.

“I go outside knowing full well that we haven’t had a mask mandate in place for months, (and) I still see people wearing masks,” he said.

“I’ve been polling people lately about the mask mandate, and most people have said, ‘You know what? I think I still may wear my mask.’”