Hawaiʻi County officials expect continued delays of county services due to staffing issues caused by the island-wide COVID-19 case surge.

The divisions and services currently affected include, but aren’t limited to: Building, Solid Waste, Vehicle Registration and Licensing, Traffic, and Parks Maintenance.

COVID can affect staffing in several ways, but most commonly through close contact (household, non-household, or contact of a contact) and exposure (work-related and non-work-related). For example, employees who were in close contact are sent home and asked to get tested and obtain a negative COVID test or, if positive for COVID-19, gain clearance from a medical professional before returning to work. In addition, there may be exposure circumstances that will require employees to quarantine for ten days as directed by the Department of Health. Other ways COVID can affect staffing include childcare issues and the inability of non-vaccinated employees to produce a negative COVID test.

Additional delays in service may be anticipated as the number of on-island COVID cases continues to increase. The County of Hawaiʻi Civil Defense Administration is monitoring the situation closely and continues to make recommendations on best practices moving forward. As a result, a closure or pause of specific services could happen at any time. County officials will notify the community if and when changes to current services occur.

All county policies and procedures related to employee COVID19 response are in accordance with Federal and State guidelines and are considered best practices to ensure a safe working environment for all County employees.