Honolulu Mayor Announces Suspension of Large Gatherings on Oʻahu for Four Weeks

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced that beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 25, he will be suspending all large gatherings on Oʻahu for four weeks–this includes trade shows, conventions, concerts and other live events, according to a Tweet he posted today.  

Mayor Blangiardi made the modification announcement regarding large gatherings on Oʻahu during a press conference on Monday morning.

Effective on Aug. 25, Mayor Blangiardi said the City is canceling all large gatherings. “That includes the University of Hawaiʻi as far as the football team and women’s volleyball… We are going to be shutting down the Blaisdell… Waikīkī Shell and any other venues that we can control,” he said during the live streamed press event.

Large gatherings are a singular organized occurrence as opposed to a daily happening. Some examples of gatherings that are suspended are listed below:

• Conferences and meetings
• Trade shows
• Conventions
• Concerts and live events
• Ticketed sporting events
• Sports tournaments
• Gatherings in connection with weddings and funerals

Day to day activities that will be allowed to continue operations include:

• Organized recreational sports
• Spiritual services
• Social establishments continue operations as a restaurant/bar
• Farmer’s markets and craft fairs, with no entertainment

“The thought there is that we feel that’s really the major source of communal spread, and at the same time we’re obviously urging everyone to be vaccinated,” he said. “We feel very good about the fact that with the cooperation of the community, (and) the understanding that this will go a long way in our regard,” said Mayor Blangiardi.

“We’re at a point right now after some 18-plus months of dealing with this disease, that we never really expected to be at,” said Mayor Blangiardi. “We really thought that we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but over the last several weeks, our cases have surged. The Delta variant has proved to be more than formidable,” he said.

The Governor’s last executive order had allowed for professionally planned events as long as organizers submitted mitigation plans and obtained approval from the counties where they are being held.

As of last Friday, there were 28 events with more than 1,000 attendees, 46 events with more than 500 attendees and 113 events with more than 200 attendees that submitted mitigation plans to the City. These and other events scheduled within the 28 day restricted period will be canceled.

He said the City and County of Honolulu will be applying the rule for 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, and will be allowing events that fit under those parameters.

Meantime, Governor David Ige will provide a statewide COVID-19 update during a press briefing scheduled to start at 2 p.m.