Hope is looming as COVID-19 vaccinations continue in Hawaii and across the country, but state-issued regulations to curb the pandemic remain the same for now.
Government David Ige on Friday issued an 18th emergency proclamation recognizing the new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, which no longer require vaccinated individuals to meet certain quarantine criteria.
But the exception will not yet be made formal for travelers traveling to Hawaii.
Ige, in a news release, said the state would wait for specific guidance from the CDC “before applying an exception to quarantine for vaccinated travelers.”
Health department officials on Friday reported one new coronavirus death and 70 new infections, bringing the total state to 425 deaths and 26,743 cases since the start of the pandemic.
The death on Oahu was a man in his 60s with underlying conditions admitted to the hospital, officials said.
The new cases reported by the department on Friday include 33 on Oahu, 25 on Maui, five on the island of Hawaii and seven residents diagnosed outside the state.
The governor also on Friday approved the third amended and revised order of the city and county of Honolulu to keep Oahu within Level 2, where it has been since October.
Under Tier 2 restrictions, up to five people can eat together in a restaurant without being from the same household, and personal care and legal short-term rental services can be operated. In addition, gyms and fitness facilities are allowed to function indoors with a capacity of 25%, and classes for physical activity indoors are limited to a maximum of five people and outdoor classes to ten people. Current rules on face masks and social distance still apply.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi makes no changes to the four-tier framework for reopening the island’s commercial, social and community activities instituted by former Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
The order takes effect Monday and will take effect on March 15 at least, unless Oahu’s statistics move it to another level earlier.
Friday’s average seven days for Oahu was 45 and the seven-day positive percentage was 1.5%, according to Blan-giardi. To move Oahu to the less restrictive level 3, the seven-day average of two cases on two consecutive Wednesdays must be below 50 and the seven-day average positivity rate must be below 2.5%.
Blangiardi said that while he looks forward to working with Ige and the Department of Health to further ease restrictions on certain businesses and operations, there are concerns about the increase in COVID-19 cases after the Super Bowl weekend.
“The health and safety of everyone in the city and county of Honolulu remains our top priority and I want to promote us in a purposeful way and based on science,” he said in a statement. “To successfully minimize the spread of this virus during events such as Super Bowl weekend, Valentine’s Day and beyond, the key to getting more of Oahu back to work, to school and back into the community activities we desperately need.”
Blangiardi mentioned earlier that he hopes to be able to ease the restrictions for bar owners as well as for outdoor youth team sports, both of which are only allowed under Tier 4.
According to Thursday, 236,649 COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the state according to preliminary DOH statistics. About 10.8% of the population received at least one dose.
Health officials also reported 1,344 active cases across the country, 44 fewer than the previous count. Per island, Oahu has 738 active cases, Maui has 224, Hawaii has 66, Kauai has three, Lanai has two and Molokai has one.
Of all the confirmed cases of Hawaii infection, 1,779 required hospitalization, and four new hospitalizations were reported by state health officials on Friday. Four counties in the census are Hawaii residents who have been diagnosed and treated outside the state.
According to the Hawaii COVID-19 data panel, 49 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Thursday morning, 14 of them in intensive care units and 12 in ventilators.
Government Ige’s 18th Proclamation … by Honolulu Star-Advertiser