Updated: October 1, 2023
Meantime, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi today announced that beginning on Wednesday, he will be suspending all large gatherings on Oʻahu for four weeks–this includes trade shows, conventions, concerts and other live events, according to a Tweet he posted today.
Mayor Blangiardi made the modification announcement regarding large gatherings on Oʻahu during a press conference on Monday morning.
Effective on Aug. 25, Mayor Blangiardi said the City is canceling all large gatherings. “That includes the University of Hawaiʻi as far as the football team and women’s volleyball… We are going to be shutting down the Blaisdell… Waikīkī Shell and any other venues that we can control,” he said during the live streamed press event.
“The thought there is that we feel that’s really the major source of communal spread, and at the same time we’re obviously urging everyone to be vaccinated,” he said. “We feel very good about the fact that with the cooperation of the community, (and) the understanding that this will go a long way in our regard,” said Mayor Blangiardi.
“We’re at a point right now after some 18-plus months of dealing with this disease, that we never really expected to be at,” said Mayor Blangiardi. “We really thought that we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but over the last several weeks, our cases have surged. The Delta variant has proved to be more than formidable,” he said.
The Governor’s last executive order had allowed for professionally planned events as long as organizers submitted mitigation plans and obtained approval from the counties where they are being held.
Mayor Blangiardi said he an estimated 180 plans were about to happen ranging from over 50 gusts to events where the number of attendees was over 1,000. Hundreds of pages applications were submitted for gatherings planned on Oʻahu for everything from weddings to conventions.
He said the City and County of Honolulu will be applying the rule for 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, and will be allowing events that fit under those parameters.
Meantime, Governor David Ige will provide a statewide COVID-19 update during a press briefing scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
Original source: https://mauinow.com/2021/08/23/honolulu-mayor-announces-suspension-of-large-gatherings-on-o%ca%bbahu-for-four-weeks/