Mayor’s “Restore Honolulu” order provides guidelines in reopening Oahu establishments

(FILES) – Shoppers at the Ala Moana Center, dubbed as the world’s largest open-air shopping mall. The mall will reopen on May 15, 2020, but its food court dining halls, arcades and other common areas will remain closed to prevent crowding. (Screenshot footage by Alfred Acenas, EBC Hawaii Bureau, Eagle News Service)

 

By Alfred Acenas
EBC Hawaii Bureau

HONOLULU (Eagle News) – Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced this week that certain designated businesses and operations in Oahu will be allowed to reopen on Friday, May 15, by following specific guidelines.

The amended and restated “Stay at Home/Work from Home” order, now under the new name “Ho‘oulu i Honolulu” or “Restore Honolulu” order, incorporates all prior emergency orders, including the wearing of non-medical grade face coverings, social distancing requirements and the limited opening of city parks.

The updated order allows Oahu residents to shop at retail businesses and shopping malls that comply with specific operations guidelines that includes allowing all persons in these establishments to maintain physical/social distancing and health and safety standards.

Retail establishments should meet the following guidelines:

  • Occupant is limited at all times to no more than one (1) person per 200 square feet (61 meters) of the gross operation area (which equates to approximately 50% of the maximum occupancy load).
  • Social distancing requirements (as defined in the order) are adhered to at all times.
  • The city’s “COVID-19 Guidance for Business” is followed to the greatest extent possible.

Within shopping malls, the following must remain closed:

  • Food-court dining areas (except for delivery or carry out)
  • Play areas
  • Entertainment areas
  • Common areas (except to access and depart from a retail or repair service business)
  • Arcades
  • Game rooms

“As we start to thaw out our economy and get back to a more open way of life, please keep in mind the loved ones you’ve been trying to protect by staying at home,” said Caldwell. “By continuing to practice safe physical distancing and wearing a face covering in public, we can make sure all the work we did to contain this virus, and the efforts of our healthcare workers during this difficult time, won’t be for naught.”

Oahu residents are encouraged to visit the website oneoahu.org to get answers to frequently asked questions about the mayor’s “Ho‘oulu i Honolulu” order. Translations are also available in Chinese (traditional and simplified), Chuukese (Micronesian), Filipino (Tagalog and Ilocano), Japanese, Korean, Marshallese, Samoan, and Vietnamese.

(Eagle News Service)