On Thursday, August 5, 2021, Gov. David Ige signed an emergency proclamation related to the State’s COVID-19 response.  The emergency proclamation is effective immediately and will expire on Oct. 4, 2021.

Beginning on August. 16, 2021, all State and county employees must provide their vaccination status to their department, office or agency. If they cannot provide proof of vaccination, they will be subject to regular COVID-19 testing. The location of free testing sites is available at https://hawaiicovid19.com. If a free testing site is not used, employees must cover any testing costs. In addition, they may be subject to restrictions on official travel.

“The highly contagious Delta variant creates a big risk of infection, especially for members of our community who are not vaccinated. With spiking COVID-19 case numbers, we have to take measures now to prevent an unmanageable strain on our healthcare system. This new vaccination and testing policy for State and county workers will help protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of Hawaiʻi,” said Gov. Ige in a statement.

Other provisions of the Emergency Proclamation include:

• Continues statewide mandatory mask provisions for indoor public settings.
• Continues the mandatory travel quarantine and Safe Travels program, including the pre-travel testing and vaccination exceptions to the quarantine.
• Continues the suspension of licensing requirements for select professions that meet certain conditions. These medical professions include locally hired physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, radiographers, radiation therapists, nuclear medicine technologists, and civil service employed clinical psychologists and more. Those who previously had their license revoked or suspended are not eligible for this temporary exception.
• Allows Boards and Commissions to continue to meet virtually using interactive conference technology, reflecting the intent of the Legislature in Act 220 (2021).
• Allows for the extension of expirations for driver’s licenses, state IDs, and instructional permits that expired during the emergency period. This extension allows county driver’s licensing centers to recover from the ongoing effects of the pandemic on availability of services.
• Ends the limited suspension of the Uniform Information Practices Act, the state’s open records law.

As announced, the Emergency Proclamation will not continue to suspend the provision of 127A that enabled the state eviction moratorium because the legislature enacted legislation to address the situation. However, any eviction actions will still need to comply with the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Eviction Moratorium.

The full emergency proclamation can be viewed here.