Gov. David Ige said he plans to extend the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving in Hawaii through June, even as Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell moves to reopen some businesses, including restaurants.

During a Facebook Live broadcast Thursday, Ige said he is looking to extend the quarantine, as well as the state’s “safer-at-home” mandate, through June. In the meantime, he and state officials will announce another round of businesses that may reopen and what kinds of activities may resume in the weeks to come.

“We are looking at other medium-risk activities — for example, dining at restaurants is a question I always get, and personal services, like hair salons and barber shops,” he said. “Certainly it’s more risky but we’re looking at CDC guidance for ways to keep employees and customers safe in those settings.”

Meanwhile, as retail kicks off Friday on Oahu, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced plans Thursday to reopen other activities while extending the general stay at home, work at home order through June 30.

Restaurants should be able to reopen on June 5, he said. The delay is to allow time to “see what happens with the virus” after retail activities resume.

“Every action we take is about protecting the public’s health and safety,” he said at a press conference. “If there is an uptick and it’s significant, we have time to adjust and recalibrate whether we open up restaurants or not.”

Mayor Kirk Caldwell is working to reopen Oahu’s economy piece by piece. Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2020

When restaurants reopen, employees will be required to wear face masks. Customers will also be required to wear a face covering as they enter the establishment until they sit down, and again when they leave.

Seating will be 6 feet apart. Condiments will be required to be in single-use disposable packets. Tables and chairs must be sanitized after each group leaves. Menus should be disposable when possible, Caldwell said.

All employees should receive training on COVID-19 mitigation and staff should be screened for the virus every day, the mayor said. Sick employees shouldn’t come to work. Reservations are encouraged for crowd control, he said, and cashless, digital transactions are preferred to reduce human contact. The city will allow outdoor dining on sidewalks and parks.

Customers should enter through one door and leave through another so there is one-way foot traffic, Caldwell said.

Starting Friday, public and private outdoor sports fields and courts will be open for one-on-one activities such as tennis or pickleball. Games like basketball, however, are not allowed because they require close contact among players, the mayor said. Group exercise of no more than 10 people such as yoga or tai chi will also be allowed. Masks are required before and after these activities.

Also on Friday, drive-in services, including religious activities and entertainment, will be allowed as long as occupants of vehicles come from the same household. Cars can be close together if their windows are up or six feet apart if windows are down.

“We believe now it’s not so much about tamping down as starting to restore so we can get back to life as it was prior to the pandemic,” he said.

If positive COVID-19 tests continue to be low, Caldwell said the island will open other sectors in collaboration with Gov. David Ige. Caldwell said he will ask Ige to allow Oahu to fully reopen its beaches. Currently, people can visit the beach to access the ocean or for exercise only.

The mayor also said he intends to ask the governor tomorrow to extend the 14-day quarantine requirement for interisland travel through June 30.

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