No Social Gatherings Order issued for Oahu

Act Now Honolulu is the order by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell today.

Caldwell announced that Governor David Ige has approved the City and County of Honolulu’s Emergency Order No. 2020-24, prohibiting social gatherings on O‘ahu. This Order is effective on Thursday, August 20, and will continue through Wednesday, September 16.

The Emergency Order prohibits indoor and outdoor social gatherings of any type and any number of people. For the purposes of this Order a “social gathering” is a gathering or event that brings together people from multiple households or living units at the same time for a discrete, shared or group experience in a single room, space, or place. This includes coming together in a private home, at a conference room, lunch room, or other indoor or outdoor space.

Group dining at restaurants and group visits to indoor and outdoor attractions are now limited to a maximum of five individuals. For larger families, we ask that they please go out into public spaces in smaller numbers. Right now, there is a resurgence of COVID-19 within the City due to large gatherings in uncontrolled environments. To protect the public health and for the long-term benefit of the economy, the City, through this Order, is limiting certain activities and businesses again to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Where multiple groups are present at indoor and outdoor attractions, operators must implement physical distancing measures.

The Act Now Honolulu – No Social Gatherings Order also requires all individuals wear non-medical grade face coverings over their nose and mouth indoors, and also outdoors in public spaces when it is not feasible to maintain a physical distance of at least six feet from those who are not from the same household or living unit. This includes at retail and service businesses, shopping malls, in-person spiritual services, and on public transportation.

Singing at in-person spiritual services is permitted provided that the following mitigation measures are taken:

·         For outdoor services:

Any person singing shall maintain physical distancing of at least ten feet from any other person while singing. This does not apply to those from the same household/living unit.

·         For indoor services:

Any person singing shall maintain physical distancing of at least ten feet from any other person while singing and a physical barrier of sufficient size must be setup to separate those singing from any other person. This does not apply to those from the same household/living unit.

Bars, City parks, beaches, and trails remained closed at this time.

Work from home, tele-commuting, or staggered scheduling options are encouraged for all businesses on O‘ahu to reduce the number of employees on-site at the same time. Common eating areas at business offices must be closed, and measures implemented to ensure proper physical distancing is maintained in other areas where employees, clients, or guests might congregate. Businesses are encouraged to provide individual eating areas, if eating at the employees’ work area is not an option; and/or to support eating outdoors (while complying with the general prohibition on social gatherings).

Emergency Order No. 2020-24 will be posted on honolulu.gov.

Violation of any of the Orders is punishable as a misdemeanor, with fines of up to $5,000 up to a year in jail, or both.