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Crowd sizes limited on Oʻahu as Omicron rises in the islands

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi at a news conference to announce gathering restrictions due to the recent surge in COVID cases on Jan 5, 2022.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi/Facebook
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi at a news conference to announce gathering restrictions due to the recent surge in COVID cases on Jan 5, 2022.

HONOLULU — Organizers of large indoor events on Oʻahu must once again abide by crowd size restrictions as the Omicron variant spreads throughout the state.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at a news conference Wednesday that any indoor gathering with more than 1,000 people will be subject to a 50% capacity rule.

Blangiardi said the new rule would go into effect Monday and remain for at least three weeks.

Hawaiʻi's coronavirus case count skyrocketed in December, going from an average of about 100 cases per day at the start of the month to a pandemic-high, single-day record of nearly 3,500 cases at year's end. The vast majority of new cases have been detected on Oʻahu.

Blangiardi recently allowed bars and large indoor events to resume operations without crowd size or social distancing restrictions.

Hawaiʻi's public schools resumed in-person classes after returning from winter break this week. The University of Hawaiʻi opted to move most classes online for the start of the semester.

Some private schools have implemented strict testing programs. Public school students were not required to test prior to returning.

Hospital and other health officials joined the mayor Wednesday and said people need to take common sense measures to slow the spread of disease.

Find more information on vaccine and testing sites at hawaiicovid19.com.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers.
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