City Council Adopts New Policies To Combat Spread Of Covid-19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

August 10, 2021 

CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS NEW POLICIES TO COMBAT SPREAD OF COVID-19 Chair Tommy Waters Announces Changes in Response to Escalating Case Numbers 

(HONOLULU) – Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters today announced a series of policy changes designed to protect the health and safety of the public, of Council employees, and  to assist the strain on resources at local hospitals. 

“The most important thing we can do right now is to increase vaccination rates and reduce spread  to save lives in our community,” said Waters. “We need to ensure that our medical staff and  resources aren’t completely overwhelmed. We should be doing everything we possibly can to  protect ourselves and our loved ones from COVID-19 and help take the strain off of front line  workers who have been working themselves beyond exhaustion over the past 18 months— enough already.” 

Waters issued the Vaccine Policy memo Tuesday covering the legislative branch, mandating that  all employees must provide proof of full vaccination (both shots administered) by September 30,  2021. Any legislative staff seeking a medical or religious exemption must provide their request  and an affidavit by August 16. Similarly, any legislative staff who work remotely with zero  interaction with fellow staff and the public related to their jobs may request an exemption,  subject to approval by August 16.  

“The impacts of the Delta variant on our unvaccinated population threatens to unravel the  progress we have made as a community,” continued Waters. “With this policy we are going to  continue to operate and carry on our work, maintain consistency with other branches of  government so the public isn’t confused, and be aggressive to minimize opportunities for  exposure.” 

In addition to the new vaccine policy, Council Chair Waters also implemented measures  previously in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through physical contact. These include: 

∙ Access to Council Chambers, Room 202 and all other administrative offices of the  legislative branch will be limited to legislative branch employees and officers of the City  and County of Honolulu who are in compliance with the new vaccine policy. Public  access and testimony for Council proceedings will continue to be available virtually and  at the City Clerk window. 

∙ Any employee or officer traveling off-island will now need to provide proof of a negative  COVID-19 test prior to returning to any city facility or city sites. 

∙ The Governor’s mask mandate will be recognized and must be followed within all  legislative branch offices.  

∙ All supervisors are encouraged to increase physical distancing and avoiding contact by  allowing vaccinated employees to work remotely on a rotating basis, while still ensuring  in-person coverage for critical services at all times.  

“I want to assure the public that we are taking this seriously,” said Chair Waters. “The vast  majority of our legislative staff—nearly 90 percent—are already fully vaccinated and we have  had zero instances of COVID-19 being spread in our workplace. But I hope these additional  actions will encourage our staff to reach 100 percent, to serve as an example to others, and  protect our keiki and others who cannot vaccinate. We all have to protect our island ʻohana.”