HILO — Observatories on Hawaii’s highest mountain started resuming activities following a forced closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Observatories within the Mauna Kea Science Reserve on the Big Island have been closed since March, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Monday.
The observatories were among nonessential businesses and facilities closed in accordance with Democratic Gov. David Ige’s emergency proclamation to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
Ige issued an updated proclamation allowing certain establishments to reopen Thursday, including astronomical observatories.
The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope was able to resume nighttime observations, executive director Doug Simons said.
“I was pleased to see a night log with some actual data after so long,” Simons said.
Canada-France-Hawaii’s internship program, which attracts several dozen interns every year, has been suspended indefinitely because of the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving travelers, Simons said.
Despite the green light to reopen, the observatories may not return to full operations for some time.
“We’re going to be going at a slower, more deliberate pace,” said John O’Meara, chief scientist at the W. M. Keck Observatory. “We have two telescopes up there, and we’re going to get them live one at a time.”
The majority of Keck’s employees are still working from home, with only a skeleton crew being sent to the summit each week to comply with social distancing guidelines, O’Meara said.
The additional safety measures needed to sanitize shared surfaces will extend the time before the observatory is back to full capacity, O’Meara said.
“I don’t know when we’ll be beginning science operations again, but as soon as we can guarantee the safety of our crews, we will,” O’Meara said. “If we’re going slower but safer, then I think that’s the right choice.”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
