CORRECTION: The mayor’s office said plans to open beaches on Tuesday are dependent on Gov. David Ige’s approval. A previous version of the story said the beaches would reopen, regardless.
Mayor Harry Kim said today the plan is for all Hawaii County beach parks and beaches will reopen Tuesday, pending the approval of Gov. David Ige. That includes the beaches themselves.
“I’m going to ask the governor to approve the plan,” Kim said.
The other three Hawaii counties have opened their beaches to sunbathing, providing social distancing guidelines are followed.
Kim said he made the decision to reopen the beaches because “the active cases of COVID-19 in Hawaii County remain low.”
Two new cases were reported over the weekend, making the total cases on the Big Island 77, with 75 released from isolation as recovered.
Kim said both of the new cases are of residents who contracted the virus while traveling on the mainland.
Kim’s announcement comes on the same day that Ige announced the state is preparing for a phased reopening of the economy and that “safer at home” guidelines are being replaced by “act with care” guidelines.
A full version of this story will appear in Tuesday’s Tribune-Herald.