Hawaii’s most populous island is restoring a stay-at-home order due to a spike in positive COVID-19 tests on the island and in its largest city, Honolulu.
Gov. David Ige (D) approved the declaration on Wednesday, according to Hawaii News Now, allowing essential businesses and religious services to continue while other businesses and public spaces are required to close. The order is similar to one the state issued in March.
“Re-implementing a stay-at-home order is what Oahu needs at this time,” he said Wednesday at a press conference.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell (D) added that the state plans to conduct at least 60,000 COVID-19 tests over the next two weeks with assistance from the federal government as the state looks to blunt its surging trend of new cases.
“Everybody has to do their part and for the most part people are,” Caldwell said, according to HNN. “We can do this … and when we reopen it will be different this time.”
City officials have reportedly reserved dozens of hotel rooms for residents who cannot isolate at home and asked the state for permission to hire hundreds of contact tracing personnel. Caldwell reportedly added Wednesday that the city would add $25 million to a business investment program used to help local businesses recover from the pandemic’s economic effects.
State officials recorded 270 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, officials said at Wednesday’s news conference, marking a one-day record for Hawaii.
The new caseload brings Hawaii’s total above 7,000 confirmed cases statewide, and 48 people have died as of Tuesday in the state.