The State Department of Health’s Food Safety Branch says it will suspend operations of restaurants, bars and other food establishments that do not comply with physical distancing, wearing cloth face masks and other required guidance.

O’ahu has had several hundred new cases of COVID-19 in the past month, and in press briefings, State Health Director Bruce Anderson has said many are related to gatherings at bars where patrons were not staying physically distant from each other.  The Big Island has 8 or 9 active cases of COVID-19, and the State Health Department and Hawaii County Civil Defense has said most of those are in some way related to travel, and have not mentioned gatherings at bars.

If the State Health Department finds bars and restaurants violating the COVID-19 safety guidelines  issued May 21, 2020, it will issue a Red Placard, meaning the restaurant or bar will not be able to operate.

The strict enforcement also enables the Department of Health to effectively respond to consumer complaints about non-compliant food establishments and enhances the state’s readiness to implement a pre-travel testing program on August 1.

Peter Oshiro, chief of the Department of Health’s Food Safety Branch says restaurants and especially bars have been shown to have a higher transmission of the coronavirus in respiratory droplets because of overcrowding. There is also lower adherence to physical distancing among customers who are inebriated or are engaging in loud talking or shouting in very close proximity to each other because of amplified music or noise.

For the full State Department of Health release, click here.