Honolulu easing some virus restrictions

Honolulu will ease some coronavirus lockdown restrictions after months of serious precautions to avoid the spread of the virus.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell (D-Hawaii) said the city would allow the resumption of some activities that were temporarily restricted last month to try to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19, The Associated Press reported.

The mayor said Tuesday the city would now allow social gatherings of up to five people, meaning beachgoers and hikers are permitted to mingle in small groups that do not exceed limitations.

Retail stores will be allowed to resume operations at 50 percent of capacity, the mayor added.

Restaurants will be permitted to sit up to five diners at a table as long as the customers provide their names and contact information so contact tracers can inform patrons in the event of any potential virus spread.

Those dining in restaurants will be required to wear masks when they are not eating.

There have been nearly 11,500 cases of COVID-19 in Hawaii and 120 deaths from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

In the past seven days, the state has recorded 678 cases and 20 deaths related to the virus.

Data indicates new daily cases in Hawaii are trending downwards following a spike in virus clusters in late August.

A statement from Hawaii’s Department of Health on Aug. 25 said “We suspect and in some cases have confirmed these [new] cases are related to inconsistent mask wearing and lack of physical distancing.