Honolulu: Blangiardi Keeps Oahu鈥檚 Pandemic Restrictions In Place
Mayor Rick Blangiardi鈥檚 first emergency order maintains the pandemic response plan his predecessor established.
Current restrictions on gatherings on Oahu will remain in place for at least another month, Mayor Rick Blangiardi鈥檚 office announced in a news release on Friday.
The island will remain in Tier 2 of the city and county鈥檚 reopening framework through March 15 unless the COVID-19 case numbers and positivity rate decline to a certain threshold. Honolulu has been in Tier 2 since October.
For now, gatherings are still limited to groups no larger than five, regardless of whether people live in the same household. That rule applies to social gatherings, restaurants, indoor fitness classes, outdoor sports, shooting and archery ranges, real estate activities, car dealerships and other commercial activities.
Retail business and spiritual services must operate at 50% capacity. Bars and night clubs will continue to be closed for the foreseeable future.
鈥淲hile I look forward to working with the Governor and the State Department of Health on ways we can loosen restrictions on certain business sectors and operations, we need to be cognizant of the potential for COVID-19 cases on O鈥榓hu bumping up following the Super Bowl weekend,鈥 Blangiardi said in a statement.
The mayor said the city鈥檚 priority is health and safety and he wants to proceed 鈥渋n a way that is deliberate and based on science.鈥
鈥淪uccessfully minimizing the spread of this virus during occasions like Super Bowl weekend, Valentine鈥檚 Day, and beyond, is the key to getting more of O鈥榓hu back to work, school, and back in the community activities we desperately need,鈥 he said.
The City鈥檚 COVID-19 information call center is available at 768-CITY (2489) and is open every day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on holidays. Information about the city鈥檚 pandemic response is available at聽聽and by emailing聽covidresponse@honolulu.gov.
