We continue to adjust our pandemic protocols as more openings occur. COVID-safe schools are on the minds of many who are concerned about whether we will be ready in two weeks. I reported last week on the senate committee’s questioning of the DOE and DOH; and, today, the Governor’s briefing continued to discuss school plans. We also monitor the safety of the city’s “Open Street Kalakaua” Sundays as well as quarantine efforts to keep rogue travelers at bay.
WAIKIKI’S “OPEN KALAKAUA” SUNDAY: Should it continue?
Last week we asked your opinion on whether Open Street Sundays on Kalakaua Avenue should continue. The event has been happening weekly from 6am to noon since June 14 and continues through July 26. Mahalo to those who responded. Below are the results:
Over half wanted the event to continue but 36% wanted it ended now. Even among those who liked the event concerns were raised about the failure of participants to practice social distancing and masking to protect the health and safety of those among them. Some Waikiki residents also experienced the event and expressed concerns at the Waikiki Neighborhood Board. Based on these comments, some of us sent our concerns to Mayor Caldwell today. You can read the full text here.
MORE ON SCHOOL REOPENING: More safeguards
Governor Ige’s press conference today focused on the reopening of schools. DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto, Board of Education Chairperson Catherine Payne, and State Epidemiologist Sarah Park presented detailed procedures. They announced that the reopening plan was based on a survey of 32,00 parent responses, with 84% wanting a mixed-method learning system but 70% said their children struggled or learned less during distance learning. For reopening details, see DOE’s “Return to Learn: School Reopening Plan.” You can also watch a recording of the press conference on his facebook page. Some of the new features of the DOE plan focuses on healthcare: telehealth hotline; additional registered nurses; several health screening layers (visual, temperature check, health questions) and a health room in every school; required masks (unless exempted); and a contingency plan if a student or teacher tests positive for COVID can be found here. Teachers will return on Wednesday, July 29 to prepare for the August 4 opening.
QUARANTINE ENFORCEMENT: It’s a Community Effort
More than 2,200 returning residents and visitors flew into Hawaii airports since last week and, unless they have an exemption, all of them are to abide by the State’s mandatory 14-day quarantine. It’s a monumental effort to keep track of everyone who should be in quarantine and it involves a hui of the courts, law enforcement agencies, representatives of Hawaii’s visitor industry, state transportation workers, and the community. So far, 182 have been arrested for violating quarantine. Enforcement officers have the discretion to warn, cite, or arrest based on available facts and circumstances.
Additionally, a team of about 80 members from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HTA’s marketing contractor for the U.S. market), Hawaii County Civil Defense and the Maui Police Department call –as many as three times during the quarantine period– to check that travelers are not violating quarantine. Since March they have contacted over 27,000 travelers, with about 7,145 still actively being tracked. The team provides supporting documentation for law enforcement investigations of quarantine violations. The community can help by reporting suspected quarantine violators who can be ordered to pay a maximum fine of $5,000 or spend up to a year in jail. Here’s how:
Report the violation by calling 911 or your local police department;
Give as much detail as possible on the person and where you have seen him/her;
Provide evidence that the person should be in quarantine (must be more than your opinion that the person on the beach looks like he just came to Hawaii and doesn’t belong here); we must be careful that we don’t profile people.
