“Mask Up for Maui County” Program Aims to Boost Face Mask Use

Mayor Michael Victorino announced a new program to increase face mask usage throughout the county. The “Mask Up for Maui County” initiative enlists the help of volunteers to serve as community ambassadors. The volunteers are tasked with reminding visitors and residents that wearing face masks is mandatory throughout Maui County. 

Volunteers will approach unmasked individuals with a copy of Maui County’s Public Health Emergency Rules to explain that mask-wearing is compulsory in all public areas of Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

Volunteers will also present a new complimentary face mask from the County of Maui. The county has purchased 80,000 dual-layer face masks using CARES Act funds.

According to Hawaiʻi Department of Health data, proper face mask use in Maui County had reached 96 percent in mid-January, but recently slipped to 88 percent. 

“Wearing face masks is one of the best ways to prevent exposure to new variants of COVID-19 and to protect one another while we wait for widespread vaccination,” said Mayor Victorino. “Throughout this entire health crisis, the community has come together to support one another and this is another example of that aloha spirit. We deeply appreciate the volunteers who have stepped up and we invite more to join the effort.”

The first Mask Up for Maui County volunteers come from LahainaTown Action Committee, Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Clean and Safe in Lahaina and Wailuku, security teams from Shops at Wailea and Lahaina Gateway, Hope Chapel in Kīhei, Aunty Mopsy and the Protect Pāʻia group, and Maui Police Department’s community police officers.

If you or your organization want to join the effort, call Community Liaison Alan Fukuyama from the Office of the Mayor at (808) 270-8299.