Honolulu will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test for the majority of customers at indoor businesses starting next month due to the delta variant's spread throughout Hawaii.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on Monday announced that, beginning Sept. 13, most patrons of bars, restaurants, gyms, movie theaters must provide proof of full vaccination or a negative test result from the previous 48 hours in order to enter. A hard copy, a photograph or a digital copy on a state-approved smartphone application are all acceptable, the state said.
Children under 12 are exempt, as are people remaining inside a business for fewer than 15 minutes during a 24-hour period.
Blangiardi's order will also require employees at indoor businesses to provide proof of vaccination to their employer, or otherwise submit to weekly testing. Honolulu averaged 623 COVID-19 cases per day last week, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
"We want to create safe spaces for employees and customers so they can feel confident the people around them are either vaccinated or have a negative test," the mayor said in a statement. "We will continue to evaluate the program over the next 60 days and if the high infection rate or hospitalization rates have not improved, we will adjust the program to require mandatory vaccinations."
According to state data, 76% of Honolulu residents aged 12 or older are fully vaccinated.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige urged tourists not to visit the state last Monday, amid the surge in cases. The state ultimately averaged a 7.9% positivity rate last week, according to Hawaii data. Eighty percent of the state’s ICU beds were occupied during that time, according to Johns Hopkins University tracking.
Due to the reduced ICU capacity, Honolulu will also prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol after 10 p.m. at bars and restaurants. Jill Hoggard Green, President and CEO of The Queen's Health Systems, said in a release 20% of the trauma patients in the hospital system’s emergency rooms were related to alcohol.
Earlier this month, New York City and San Francisco announced they would require proof of vaccination for indoor businesses. New York City required patrons to provide proof of at least dose, whereas San Francisco required customers to be fully vaccinated. Neither city provided an exemption for a negative COVID-19 test.
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