LIHU‘E — Weekend beach plans have no need to be canceled, as the county’s initial-beach-reopening pilot program has been extended through the end of June.
Gov. David Ige granted the extension to Mayor Derek Kawakami’s emergency rule No. 8, which allows leisure use of beaches. The county initially sent over the request to Ige prior to the two-week pilot’s expiration, which would have ended May 29 without the governor’s approval.
Kawakami finalized and announced the extension on Friday.
“We thank all of you for helping us to extend the beach opening by following the guidelines,” Kawakami said.
Beaches reopened May 15 for a two-week program with a few rules. During daylight hours, beach-goers were asked to not convene with groups of more than 10 people, keep social distance between non-household members, and stay off beaches overnight with the exception of outdoor exercise and shoreline fishing.
Residents rejoiced when allowed the option to sunbathe and lounge without running the risk of citation. The first weekend of the two-week pilot-program saw more than 14,000 beach-goers. Other islands soon followed suit with similar beach-opening strategies, allowing residents to utilize beaches for more than outdoor exercise, swimming or surfing.
Ige has also approved a June 1 reopening of gyms and fitness centers, dine-in restaurant service, regrouping of outdoor team sports, and personal service outfits like spas on Kaua‘i.
Indoor exercise facilities, including gyms, fitness centers and recreation facilities, as well as outdoor spaces like playgrounds, skate parks and other parks, are also set to reopen June 1. Gatherings at parks or pavilions must be limited to a single household group of no more than 10 people.
In part with restaurant service, musicians and bands may begin performing on stage so long as they maintain a distance of at least 10 feet from patrons and staff, and are socially distant from fellow performers by at least 6 feet. It is recommended that performers be outdoors and wear masks if possible.
The county is at about six weeks with no new active cases on island, but Kawakami warns residents to continue to take precautions, like wearing masks and staying home when sick.
“Testing continues on Kaua‘i on a daily basis,” Kawakami said. “As we resume more activities and travel, we expect new cases to appear.”
Memorial Day weekend — a traditionally busy time at the beach — landed in the middle of the beach pilot program on Kaua‘i, and during the holiday weekend the Kaua‘i Police Department wrote up 98 citations, five of which were COVID-19-related, according to a KPD spokesperson.
From Friday, May 22 to Monday, May 25, there were 25 arrests, according to the KPD’s daily media arrest report. Three of these arrests were in relation to violations of the governor’s and mayor’s rules to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
These are preliminary numbers and could change as more information becomes available, the spokesperson noted.
From March to mid-May, over 500 misdemeanor citations have been issued relating to breaking state and county emergency rules.
Criminal misdemeanor offenses of breaking emergency rules are punishable by fines of up to $5,000 and up to one year in jail.
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Sabrina Bodon, public safety and government reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.
OMG! 6 weeks without a positive Covid diagnosis on Kaua’i, and we must continue to act like the disease is running rampant.
Mayor Kawakami is quoted as saying “Testing continues on Kaua‘i on a daily basis. As we resume more activities and travel, we expect new cases to appear.”
What testing? Any testing at the airport? What new cases? Out of thin air? And what travel? If the Mayor has not heard, there is a 14 day quarantine in effect, with the authorities arresting and citing those who are getting tired of complying with regulations which are impeding our freedoms.
Derek, there appears to be NO C-19 infections currently on Kaua’i. Why not make a firm deal with the public? Let us remove our masks with the promise that they will go back on if Kaua’i experiences more than three covid-19 diagnoses in one day? Let’s try getting back to a sense of normalcy, and see how it goes?
Pilot program? …so the beaches are no longer ours?
So we’re supposed to be grateful and in awe of the buffoons that trashed our liberty, constricted our freedom for giving it back? They had no legitimate authority to suspend everyone’s rights in the first place.
They did not save us from Covid. If what they did–lock us down– was the correct choice they need to explain why the states and countries that did not lock-down and only practiced some form of distancing show similar infection and death rates–some actually fared way better. The fact is that all infectious viral diseases follow a pattern of growing, peak and then declining incidence.
I suggest DK and Ige take the time to read some of Stanford professor and Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt’s research. https://twitter.com/mlevitt_np2013?lang=en DK might get it…but Ige is a lost cause.
RG DeSoto
Such magnanimity by our supreme leader in allowing us the privilege of continuing to actually lay on the beach for another month. 14,000 participants thus far with no incidences of CV-19, only 500 citations and six suicides. If all the citations could invoke the maximum fine we could almost balance the County budget. Get real Mayor Kawakami and open up our island with no restrictions, emergency rules, proclamations, pep talks or magic acts. Don’t you think 6 weeks of no CV-19 is enough to allow our island to return to normal? Quarantining arrivals from the mainland and enforcing it vigorously and testing them before allowing them into our population is all we really need. We can be an oasis of hope in a sea of calamity if we so choose or we can continue to live in fear and subservience. May you make the right choice.