LIHUE — You can fire up your nine iron or your nail gun on Sunday, May 3 due to a recent restructuring of Kauai’s emergency rules which allow, among other activities, construction and golfing to resume starting Sunday.
Mayor Derek Kawakami announced Wednesday that he’s letting some of the Mayor Emergency Rules expire — numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 — on May 3. Those rules relate to beach park permits for non-residents; bars and restaurants; mandatory masks; and essential businesses and services.
But only because Governor Ige’s statewide laws overlap those rules. Bars are still closed and restaurants are still limited to pick-up and delivery and only businesses that are on Ige’s list of essential businesses (found in the Third Supplementary Proclamation) are allowed to operate.
And the public is reminded it’s still required to wear masks in public, to follow social distancing requirements, and to be able to maintain cleanliness and sanitization.
“To be clear, we are only allowing these local rules to expire because they are now covered by the Governor’s Statewide Rules on how we use our beaches, or when we wear our masks, or what work is deemed essential,” Kawakami said in his Wednesday public address.
The first two Emergency Rules will continue, Kawakami said; Emergency Rule 1, which dedicates Kauai County campgrounds “to be used exclusively by our homeless community to shelter in place” and Emergency Rule 2, which is the nightly 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
“To be clear, TVR’s (Transient Vacation Rentals) are still banned from operating, as they are not listed as an essential business or operation under the Governor’s Order,” Kawakami said Wednesday. “Incoming visitors will still be subject to the 14-day quarantine. And while permits are no longer necessary for non-residents at county beach parks, we all must still follow the Governor’s guidelines to not loiter on beaches.”
Kawakami said his team is still figuring out next steps for reopening businesses like retail stores, cemeteries, community pools, pet grooming, car washes and salons, and promised to keep the public updated, saying “we’re working on it.”
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are still in effect statewide, which means the public is asked to stay home as much as possible, refrain from social gatherings and public outings and follow social distancing and hygiene guidelines.
This is TYRANNY! There is nothing on Kauai!!!
And the reason there have been so few COVID cases in Kauai is precisely because of these measures!
Relaxing these COVID rules is like opening a peeing section in a public pool.
How much more do we need to flatten the curve?
I’m all in support of the mayors actions. However seems like the curfew could be eliminated or made later than 9pm.
good story;
its amazing how many ads and pop-ups are on this news website; makes me dizzy;
newspaper has a lot of ads, but at least they are not moving around !!!! haha
sad the media has to resort to such ad blasting to survive;
why are you quarantining the healthy? Vary unconstitutional, not what God wants.. Government has no right to be influenced by outsiders who don’t fear God and,, i see a lot of dirty rich finger pints on this..philanthropist is the work of the devil….look at Jeffrey Epstein. They come from MIT, Harvard, some ivory school or even,, Hollywood….look at John of God children trafficking the Head person for UN children abuse was caught child trafficking and the UN WHO is a crack of poop….no one is dieing from this “pandemic”. Its a hoax. Just like the green themed Ebola or eblie.
In response to those out there who are coining new terms during this crisis such as “COV-idiots”, I would like to introduce a new term “coronaphobes”. The definition as such: An exaggerated fear of contracting coronavirus. Ex: Someone who displays exaggerated germophobic fears towards coronavirus, this person often expects their own coronavirus fears to apply to everyone throughout society. Someone who induces fear and anxiety in others by inflating factual numbers of coronavirus cases/deaths. Someone who turns to hate and even racism to describe and place judgement on others that do not share their view of coronavirus. Someone who puts others at risk by engaging in overreactive, selfish and ignorant behaviors such as: Hoarding toilet paper, hoarding face masks, hoarding cleaning supplies, hoarding disinfectants, hoarding rubbing alcohol or other antiseptics. If you display one or more of these traits you may be suffering from ”coronaphobia”, please seek help immediately.
Concerns about catching or spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 are not exaggerated. This virus is incredibly contagious and dangerous. It stays on surfaces, can be airborne, and is usually spread by asymptomatic carriers who don’t know they’re infected. It can cause severe illness and even death. It spread throughout the world in a few weeks and has already killed 60,000 people in the US in only 2 months. Don’t confuse caution and prudence with fear or phobia. And yes, you have to comply with rules because it’s a public health matter.
True insanity is happening here. How much flatter can the curve get? We are still not allowed to sit on the beach, even with social distancing of course? With zero cases on Kauai for this long?!? Quarantining the healthy in general is purely unscientific and to continue on with this unscientific approach EVEN WHEN this island has zero cases!!? Truly this is crazy, not to mention unconstitutional.
Bob, I think more and more people are agreeing with your assessment. This is perhaps the safest time for the citizens of Kauai to enjoy the beaches, get sunshine and fresh air. Once the “tourons” return it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen. Mayor Kawakami, it’s time to loosen up. Your subjects are getting restless.
Death is permanent quarantine. What a bunch of complainers. We cannot allow this disease a comeback opportunity. I for one would rather not be killed by this like the other 63,000 Americans.
Deaths from drownings, STDs, drug overdoses and abortions will kill more Kauai people this year than the Coronavirus. The heavy handed Governor and Mayor should address those issues instead of destroying our economic future.
How do the numbers of Kauai drownings, abortions, suicides, and illegal drug deaths compare to Covid-19 deaths during the same time frame? Our leaders have destroyed the economic present and future of Hawaii.
Look, If you just open the beaches to let us sit (with responsible 6-foot social distancing) I guaranty people would calm down a bit. You have instilled enough paranoia into the people of this island that we will take the necessary precautions while we sit, just sit, just be, just relax.
Let moms with keiki sit and rest for a second while their kids play. They deal with them all day inside and need a break. So let her sit, just sit.
Its time to let people who live on the island enjoy the island for themselves before you open it back up for the rest of the world. We have a rare opportunity to have this place to ourselves for a bit before its overrun again so please let us use this time.
If you trust people to keep social distancing at Costco you should be able to trust us to sit at the beach. Just sit!
This what Socialism looks like! Get used to it.