Hawaii businesses anxiously awaiting safe return of visitors
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O’ahu, HI (KITV) — Hawaii’s Lieutenant Governor told KITV4 he recommends extending the mandatory 14-day quarantine to September 1.
“It’s clear to everyone that the surge of COVID on the mainland, and to a lesser degree here, means we have to pause, take a deep breath and make sure we control COVID here before travelers start coming back to Hawaii in significant numbers. A month pause to 9/1 probably makes the most sense but we defer to the Governor for final decisions,” he wrote in a statement.
Meanwhile, Dive O’ahu tells KITV4 they will close their doors if there is no uptick in business after federal stimulus money runs dry.
“We want tourism to open safely and with the increase in [COVID-19] cases on the mainland and here the question falls back to how do we do that safely and we understand that,” President Shelly Rofrits told KITV4.
Garrett Marrero, Owner of Maui Brewing Company tells KITV4 he had to pause plans to open their two O’ahu restaurant locations due to equivocation from the state regarding a tourism reopening date.
“The government clearly does not care about the small businesses that employ the vast majority of people in Hawaii,” Marrero told KITV4.
Aaron Placourakis is the President of Tri-Star Restaurant Group which owns five restaurants on Maui including Nick’s Fishmarket. He told KITV4 he is trying to remain optimistic.
“It’s more than if my restaurants survive, I’m worried about the whole community and people that depend on me that’s who I hope survive,” he stated.
As of Friday evening, transpacific travel without a 14-day quarantine, provided the traveler receives a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of their flight, is still set to begin on August 1.
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