LIHU‘E — Indoor and outdoor gathering sizes are changing once again.
Effective Wednesday, social gatherings and events on Kaua‘i will be limited to 40 indoors and 100 outdoors. Events with over these capacity limits must have an event coordinator verifying full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result within 24 hours of the event from all attendees.
Last week, Gov. David Ige announced that state-wide orders on gathering restrictions, as well as restaurant capacity, would be lifted, leaving the counties to determine their own rules.
“Here on Kaua‘i, we will continue restrictions on gatherings and events,” Mayor Derek Kawamai said Monday.
Currently, the county requires professionally organized events over 50 to inform the county on their event details at least 10 days prior to the event. Starting Wednesday, event coordinators will not need to register events on the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency website anymore, either.
The state’s Safe Travels program, which requires out-of-state travelers to quarantine unless they show proof of full vaccination or negative COVID-19 test, will remain in effect. Indoor mask mandates will, too, statewide.
“While we are moving forward with updated emergency measures, we must remain vigilant,” Ige said in a statement Monday.
Last week, the omicron variant of the coronavirus was detected, which the World Health Organization warned of a global risk as “very high” based on the early evidence.
The variant has not been detected in the mainland or in Hawai‘i.
“The omicron variant will likely be detected in the United States,” Ige said. “Hawai‘i has a robust surveillance system. Our State Laboratories Division has the capacity to conduct whole genomic sequencing to detect variants. We have not seen the omicron variant here in Hawai‘i as of this morning, but we are closely monitoring the situation and will identify the variant as early as possible should it show up here.”
Kaua‘i Deputy District Health Officer Lauren Guest suggested protective measures, like masking indoors and avoiding large gatherings to continue to protect against all variants, including the delta variant continues to circulate on Kaua‘i.
“Scientists and health officials are still learning more about this (omicron) variant — especially the effectiveness of current vaccines against it,” Guest said Monday. “We don’t know yet how strong the protection offered by current vaccines will be. We don’t know yet whether this variant will be more transmissible or whether it will cause more severe disease.”
On Monday, the Kaua‘i District Health Office recorded 15 new cases of COVID-19. All are residents, and the 15 include four children and 11 adults. Three of the cases are related to mainland travel, with the rest considered community-acquired.
“We do expect to see a rise in cases over the next few weeks due to gatherings and travel around the holiday,” Guest said.
The county is currently reviewing six active clusters, including two educational settings, one food supplier, one restaurant, one construction setting and one social gathering.
Ten of the 98 active cases are hospitalized.
More restrictions, more variants, never-ending mandates, and now our politicians are our dictators, how is this not against the constitution or even legal? Enough is enough, we’re going on two years of this tyrannical control
14 days to slow the spread….. kawakami is a feckless mayor with little to no spine when it comes to doing what is right for the populous of kauai. Leading from fear is and will always end up failing. Do something already! Or are you so intrenched and indentured by zuckberg and your collusion with the private sector that you can’t? …..asking for a friend.
14 days … 14 weeks … 14 months … 14 years?
Does anyone else feel this whole Covid and vaccine situation is getting more and more bizarre? First, we were assured a vaccine was coming soon. Fauci and his Government Health Bureaus proclaimed, “Herd immunity is the goal! When the shot arrives, we will be safe, and the Country should reach “herd immunity” within 18 months”! So, they gave us the shots, but after a few months they realized the shots, they sold as vaccines, didn’t work after a few months so we need to buy more shots called “boosters”. I always thought boosters were those shots I may need to take for the measles etc. after their immunity wears off in 30 years or so? Not 4 to 6 months like this shot? Now they’re realizing that even with the booster we’ll all still get sick? But it won’t be as bad, they say? My guess is “boosters” will be needed every 6 months to a year forever? How’s that going to affect our bodies in the years to come? I’m one who no longer trusts our Health Care System, the government, and especially our politicians, enough to gamble on their shot. The initial side effects are already worse than any real vaccine we’ve had, and not even the shot manufacturers know how our bodies will react to their new concoction over the long term so they refused to be liable if something goes wrong? I’m sorry, but this is now seeming to be just one big scientific experiment they’re making up as they go? I pray for our children, and that it all works out for the best!
Herd Immunity? Europe is in its second week of a lockdown. 10-21 days at most. Austria, Italy, Croatia. I doubt we are heading to herd immunity. Not with the new Omicron variant lying in the wee.
“The omicron variant will likely be detected in the United States,” Ige said. “Hawai‘i has a robust surveillance system. Our State Laboratories Division has the capacity to conduct whole genomic sequencing to detect variants.”
Robust surveillance system? LOL. We don’t test vaccinated arrivals even though the efficacy of their vaccine may have waned dramatically. Anyone vaccinated outside of 6 months should not be allowed entry without testing!
And then there’s returning residents, unvaccinated, who ‘say’ they’re going to quarantine for 10 days. Some will, but we know some don’t because to them this is all a farce.
We’re ALL tired of this, but it isn’t over yet. We need to stay vigilant, especially with the new variant – until they know more about it.
BTW, they’re only doing the “whole genomic sequencing” on 75 samples per week, yet we’re getting 20 to 30 thousand visitors daily to the State. Respectfully, get your head out of the sand Gov. Ige! You can fool some of the people, but not all of us are gullible.
here a new variant…bonehead….and its everywhere!