The process to reopen Hawaii has officially begun.
On Wednesday night, nine of West Hawaii’s leaders held a virtual town hall laying out the plan for opening the state following its closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Lt. Gov. Josh Green was joined by state Sens. Lorraine Inouye (D-North Hawaii) and Dru Kanuha (D-Kona, Ka‘u), state Reps. Nicole Lowen (D-North Kona) and David Tarnas (D-North Kona/South and North Kohala) and Councilmembers Maile David (District 6), Karen Eoff (District 8), Tim Richards (District 9) and Rebecca Villegas (District 7) to outline the plan.
The town hall livestreamed on Facebook followed Gov. David Ige’s announcement that day that businesses including car dealerships, certain real estate services, automated service providers, mobile service providers, services provided on a one-on-one basis and golf courses would be allowed to reopen.
Also poised to open on the Big Island — potentially within days — are beaches, county parks and green waste disposal centers.
Richards said beaches were under consideration for opening by Mayor Harry Kim as of Tuesday, while the request for opening green waste disposal is currently pending, according to Tarnas. County parks are likely to be opened alongside all other parks in the state.
“I think we’ll quickly get to the point where we’ll be opening all parks,” said Green, noting how he wants every park to be opened simultaneously, eliminating the issue of overcrowding if certain parks are opened before others. His hope was to open all parks within two weeks.
Green also charted a path forward for the economy, with the month of May focused on restoring the kamaaina economy followed by a focus on restoring the tourism economy in June.
Reopening is contingent on improved and increased testing, including antibody tests Green hailed as a new weapon. These antibody tests, which Green said he will recommend each traveler to Hawaii takes within three days of their arrival, detect IgG antibodies present in someone who has already been exposed to and recovered from COVID-19. According to Green, these tests began on Thursday and can be done at any of Hawaii’s clinical labs.
Green estimated 60% of jobs in Hawaii can be restored in the initial phase of reopening, focused on the kamaaina economy. These restorations will likely be made in waves, with restrictions being lifted from certain aspects of the economy on a weekly basis. All aspects of reopening the state were linked with caution from West Hawaii’s leaders; few commitments were made to hard dates, but should everything go smoothly, life will gradually become more and more normal for Hawaii residents.
Interisland travel restrictions are likely to be lifted before travel from out of state, with an aim of resuming regular interisland travel — if all goes well — by Memorial Day.
Inouye noted that while interisland travel “is not that bad,” travelers should prepare in advance for specific changes in air travel. Travelers’ temperatures will be taken and forms need to be filled out prior to entering the airport. Inouye also remarked that all private jets are going through the same procedures as commercial passengers.
A major concern in the public has been with Unemployment Insurance claims. Legislative staff from multiple offices has been sent to work with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to process UI claims.
“You will get the money going back to the date of the claim,” Tarnas reassured worried claimants, emphasizing the over $60 million in claims already paid. Approximately 10,000 claims per day are being processed.
A new portal for self-employed workers has been launched, as well. The site — www.pua.hawaii.gov — is a separate portal for the self employed, gig workers, freelancers and independent contractors only.
As the state moves through the process of reopening, the leaders stressed patience from Hawaii’s residents and requested they remain informed and involved each step of the way.
