Eleven Hawaii state legislators from the Big Island– four State Senators and seven State Representatives– have sent a letter to Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim, urging him to shut down all but essential government operations and require all Hawaii residents to shelter in place for 15 days as a response to the spread of COVID-19.   The State Department of Health today reported the first two cases of community transmission, on O’ahu, including one child, though out of 37 cases in the state, only one–a visitor sequestered at a Hilo hotel–is on Hawaii Island.

The letter also asks Kim to quarantine all incoming visitors at the Hilo or Kona Airports for 15 days, prohibit all  non-essential inter-island or out-of-state travel,  close all schools and daycare facilities,  limit County work to only essential personnel provided with proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and ensure supply chains to the island remain intact, and ask the State to ensure the island’s medical facilities are properly supplied to treat any patients with COVID-19.  The letter is being delivered to Mayor Kim today, Friday, March 20.     It is copied in its entirety below.

 

Hawai`i State Legislature
March 20, 2020
The Honorable Harry Kim,
Mayor, County of Hawai‘i
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720

Re: Request for Immediate Action in Response to the Public
Health Concerns Regarding Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Dear Mayor Kim,

To protect the residents of the County of Hawaiʻi and the long-term stability of our island
economy, we implore you to immediately order the shut-down of non-essential county government
operations and the sheltering-in-place of all people throughout the County of Hawai‘i.

As Mayor of the County of Hawai’i, we strongly urge you to take the following immediate actions
through an Emergency Proclamation and Emergency Rule(s):

• Institute an immediate countywide shut down for the next fifteen (15) days.

• Order all people in the County of Hawai‘i to shelter-in-place for the next 15 days
and coordinate with the Joint Incident Center under the command of the Hawaiʻi
Emergency Management Agency Director/Adjutant General Kenneth Hara to immediately
use his authority under the March 16, 2020, Emergency Supplementary Proclamation by
Governor Ige to take all necessary steps and required means to ensure that the supply chain
for basic necessities — such as food, medicine, water, communications, gasoline, cargo and
public safety throughout the County of Hawaiʻi — is secure.

• Request Director/Adjutant General Hara to secure and requisition any needed
hospital and medical supplies that are necessary to assist with the coming need to treat
individuals due to COVID-19, at all available Hawaiʻi Island medical facilities.

• In coordination with Governor Ige, order the quarantine of all travelers arriving
from outside Hawaiʻi at the Hilo and Kona International Airports for a minimum of 15
days.

• Prohibit all non-essential inter-island and out-of-state travel from Hawaiʻi Island.

• In coordination with Governor Ige, require the immediate closure of all public and
private schools, daycare centers, preschools, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Hawaiʻi
Community College and Hawaiʻi Community College Pālamanui.

• Require the immediate closure of all County facilities and workspaces, and send
home all non-essential County of Hawaiʻi personnel for the duration of the shut down.

• Limit County of Hawai‘i work to only essential personnel, provided they are
equipped with the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and adhere to spatial
distancing guidelines and preventive measures as recommended by the Center for Disease
Control and Hawaiʻi Department of Health.

As Mayor, you are the only person who has the direct authority to institute these actions. As state
legislators, we passed and continue to support the delegated authority provided to the counties
under Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 127, which grants you, as Mayor, the power to act
in emergency situations such as the unprecedented one we face today. The entire Hawaiʻi Island
delegation is speaking with one collective voice, and we implore you to take immediate action for
the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the County of Hawai‘i.

Sincerely,

Senator Kaiali‘i Kahele                          Representative Mark M. Nakashima
Senator Russell E. Ruderman              Representative Chris Todd
Senator Dru Mamo Kanuha                 Representative Richard H.K. Onishi
Senator Lorraine R. Inouye                  Representative Joy A. San Buenaventura
Representative Richard P. Creagan
Representative Nicole E. Lowen
Representative David A. Tarnas

cc: Hawai`i County Council Chairman Aaron Chung