Honolulu Mayor: Can We Get to Tier 3?
Today, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell held a press conference at Honolulu Hale to discuss Hawaii’s current numbers in relation to COVID-19 and the way forward to move from tier 2, where the state is currently, to tier 3.
The Mayor said he believes we can advance to tier 3 despite the fact that our numbers this week are higher than they were last week. Every day now counts as today marks day one of their first 7-day period for evaluation of whether or not the state can move to tier 3 which will include among other things being able to gather with 10 people instead of 5. And this is so important during this holiday season.
To hit the target to get to tier 3, the state needs to report no more than 45 cases every day for the next 6 days to achieve the numbers needed for this first 7-day spread. Mayor Caldwell said he knows it is going to be hard, but as a community “we know how to work and dig deep” because “we come from that type of stock and know how to work hard.” The Mayor said he is hopeful.
He pointed out that the rest of our country is in dire straits. We had the highest total of deaths ever in one day at 3124 with 290,992 total deaths to date since this pandemic arrived in the United States. Also, there are 201,311 average daily cases all adding up to a high positivity rate of 11.45%.
Mayor Caldwell said we can be proud of our great job as our positivity rates have been in the 1 percent range, and that’s why he remains hopeful of getting to tier 3. He said, “It also reminds us we are human beings and that if we let our guard down and take for granted that we are safe, we can end up where the US is right now, so we need to stay the course.”
Today marks it being literally 2 weeks until Christmas Eve, and today is the start of Hannukah. The Honolulu Hale Christmas tree of hope has been lit and it is beautiful. In the story of Hannukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, when lamp oil that should have lasted only one day lasted for 8 nights, the message is that even in the darkest of times there is always light. Mayor Caldwell said: “This all leads to hope, bigger hope, a lot of hope. There is light at the end of this tunnel, but we can’t let our guard down.”
He went on to say that the first vaccines are going to arrive by the 3rd week of December, and first responders could start to get vaccinated as early as December 21. He likened that to the hope he has and the potential for a better spring and warmer summer.
He shared a story from his youth saying that when he was a teenager, he loved hiking with his friends all over the island. One time they decided to hike the Waimanu Valley and when they got down to a certain level he could see the ocean so he felt they were getting close. So, he chugged the rest of his water no realizing then that there were 12 more little valleys to hike until they would get to the bottom.
As that relates to the vaccines, while they are arriving shortly and will take care of first responders, we still have to wait for the rest of us. It has been calculated that 700,000 people need to be vaccinated. The Mayor said “we can get to the bottom of the valley floor, but we have to take measured steps and not chug our water without thinking” before we actually reach our desired destination.
In response to audience questions, restaurants have been granted an additional 90 days starting January 1, 2021 to use up remaining disposable wares. Although restaurants were allowed to open for indoor dining in tier 1, most are just barely hanging on, and this one strategy of allowing them to use up disposable supplies can help reduce their burden and take away some uncertainty.
It is not yet known if live events will be included in tier 3 once the state gets to that level. That will be up to the city’s medical panel which the Mayor will take advice from. The Mayor also confirmed that the city’s fiscal goal is to present a balanced budget to the incoming administration without having to furlough any employees.
Also under consideration is the proposal of a second test for visitors who arrive to the islands. This means they would have to provide 2 negative tests – one prior to boarding and one upon arrival. The upon-arrival test would be paid for by CARES funds and results from that second test would be available by the time they check-in at their hotel. The goal is go bring more visitors to our shores which will pump more money into our economy.
#rebuildingtravel
