No states will require masks indoors after 11:59 p.m. March
25. Hawaii is the last to drop the pandemic safety measure, with indoor mask
mandates in Oregon and Washington state expiring at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
Ige said Hawaii’s COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations
are decreasing. The seven-day new case average is about 140, he said, while a
week ago it was more than 300. There were 48 patients hospitalized with
COVID-19 on Tuesday. He said that’s the first time the number has been under 50
since around last summer.
He said he expects the downward trends to continue.
Since April 2020, the state of Hawaii has required face
masks. At first, it was both indoors and outdoors.
Ige, a Democrat, said Hawaii’s culture of caring for others,
especially kupuna, or older people in Hawaiian, helped the state tolerate the
mask rule for so long.
“I do believe that we are the last community to release the
mask mandate because we care about each other and we care about our community
and we are all willing to sacrifice to keep each other healthy and safe,” he
said.
Hawaii health officials still recommend wearing masks
indoors at schools, hospitals, prisons and other “congregate living settings.”
Sen. Kurt Fevella, the lone Republican in the state Senate,
said he gives credit to the governor for not lifting the mandate sooner, even
though he knows many of his constituents are ready to take their masks off.
“People would come up to me and tell me to take the diaper
off my face,” Fevella said. “People being rude and disrespectful ... doesn’t
help anybody.”
When people make those kinds of comments, he explains that
he wears a mask to protect his 83-year-old father who lives with him.
He said when the mandate ends, he and his family members
will continue wearing masks depending on the circumstances.
“If we don’t know the crowd we’re with, we’ll wear the
mask,” he said.
The end of the mask mandate coincides with when Hawaii plans
to lift its COVID-19 quarantine requirement for travelers. Starting March 26
those arriving from other places in the U.S. won’t have to show proof of
vaccination or a negative test to avoid sequestering themselves for five days.
Ige said these rules have contributed to Hawaii having among
the lowest rates of COVID-19 in the country.
Bronx, New York, resident Pamela Aquino said her Hawaii
summer vacation wasn’t hindered by wearing a mask indoors.
“It was so strict there. Pretty much everywhere we went we
had to wear masks,” she said. “It makes sense for them. It’s an island. I
totally get it. You don’t have a lot of hospitals.”
Kauai resident Sheila Herr said she will continue wearing a
mask when indoors around people, like at the grocery store, even if it’s not
mandatory.
“The majority of my friends on Kauai agree that we should
wear masks to protect each other,” she said.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble said many people will
keep masks on.
“Some will do it out of an abundance of caution. Others
because they are at risk,” she said. “So please encourage those who feel more
comfortable wearing masks to continue to do so.”
Lt. Gov. Josh Green, an emergency room physician on the Big
Island, said he recommended Monday that the governor and health department lift
the mandate on or before March 25.
“The governor and the director of health are very
conservative and it has benefited us because we’ve got the lowest case rate and
the second lowest mortality rate in the country,” Green said.
But he said he’s now worried about the “collateral” effects
of pandemic restrictions such as depression and alcohol abuse.
“It’s important that we begin to move toward normal because
there are other considerations like people’s mental health,” he said. -AP
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