Hawaii is reintroducing restrictions on social gatherings in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid concerns over the highly transmissible delta variant.
Democratic Gov. David Ige announced the tightened restrictions Tuesday, stating that he would be signing an executive order, effective immediately, limiting restaurants, bars, gyms, and social establishments to 50% capacity and capping indoor and outdoor gatherings at 10 and 25 people, respectively.
“With COVID-19 cases going up, the State of Hawaiʻi is taking precautions now to avert a strain on our healthcare systems. To that end – I’ll be signing an Executive Order that will limit social gatherings, effective immediately,” Ige announced Wednesday on Twitter.
DELTA SURGE DRIVES RISE IN COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
With COVID-19 cases going up, the State of Hawaiʻi is taking precautions now to avert a strain on our healthcare systems. To that end – I’ll be signing an Executive Order that will limit social gatherings, effective immediately.
— Governor David Ige (@GovHawaii) August 11, 2021
In June, amid decreasing case numbers, social gathering limitations in Hawaii were raised to 25 individuals indoors and groups of up to 75 outdoors.
Hawaii saw 3,760 new cases of COVID-19 in the last week, breaking its record high of 3,641 cases diagnosed during the week of Aug. 1-7, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
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The rise of the delta variant in the United States has driven renewed lockdowns and regulations across the nation. The Biden administration has pushed for mask mandates in high-risk areas of the nation and publicly clashed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his state’s refusal to enforce such regulations.
State officials and private businesses have also begun rolling out vaccination requirements for workers in certain industries, causing division and unrest among those opposed to receiving the injection.
