Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell today arrived on a bicycle wearing shorts, a red and white shirt with a matching facemask. He met journalist for an open-air press-conference in Waikiki. It was a beautiful bright Hawaiian sunny day on the Island of Oahu.
The City of Honolulu today announced the extension of the Kalākaua Open Streets Festival until the end of July. The festival has been successful for locals on Oahu to become tourists, enjoy Waikiki, the many restaurants and shops. With US mainland tourists expected to flood to Hawaii after August 1, Honolulu Mayor Caldwell extended the weekend fun festival to prepare local businesses for this big and long-awaited day.
In going a step further the mayor made a group of young local Hawaiian tourists to raise their right hand and swear to wear a mask, wash hands, and observe social distancing.
Before police let these four boys proceed to enjoy a beautiful Waikiki Beach day, Mayor Caldwell had them taken the oath After a photo opportunity he asked the youngsters repeated after the mayor: “You swear you will wear your mask, observe social distancing and wash your hands often.”
“This is so much fun today”, was the response of Preston. Before the kids left for the beach they had a chance to greet their Mothers on running TV cameras broadcasting this event to everyone in the State of Hawaii.
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There was a serious note in today’s press conference with another record day of 25 new COVID-19 cases in Honolulu. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, 2099 people arrived in Hawaii today, even tourism hasn’t been opened yet, and visitors are required to observe a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
When the mayor was asked by eTurboNews today if what we see is an early soft opening, he did not directly respond but said the numbers are worrisome. The mayor said a community spread of the virus is now obvious.
The mayor also said with 1200-1300 Honolulu Police Officers and increasing crime issues it’s difficult to monitor everyone on quarantine in the city.
Caldwell said: “I am watching what is happening in our main tourism source markets, specifically in California. If we don’t manage it right there may be a delay in opening up our tourism economy.”
“Hawaii has a big advantage over Florida”, the mayor told eTurboNews.” In Florida wearing a mask was seen as less macho, as it was demonstrated by President Trump.”
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell
The mayor said a community spread of the virus is now obvious also in Honolulu Yesterday a Honolulu park worker was diagnosed with the virus.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell is finishing up his second and final term as mayor, meaning the race to replace to him is wide open. Since there is no pressure of re-election Mayor Caldwell was able to do a fantastic job in putting health over business interest.
