Bars, Short-Term Rentals to Reopen Next Week

Gov. David Ige has granted Mayor Derek Kawakami’s request to reopen bars and bar top services with COVID-19 safety precautions in place.

These establishments will reopen on June 16, when the governor’s 14-day inter-island travel order ends. Ige also allowed Kaua‘i to reopen its short-term rentals, transient vacation rentals and homestays to travelers not subject to quarantine.

This new policy will also begin June 16. A 14-day quarantine order for mainland and transpacific travelers remains in place until July 31. Those who do arrive to the island will be required to shelter in place at their hotel or motel.

Businesses, hotels and lodgings have been shuttered for the past two months in an effort to quell the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Kaua‘i had 21 COVID-19 cases since the start of the breakout. All of those individuals have recovered or left the island.