Harbors

New Faces at Harbors

By: Robert McLean

The Harbors Division would like to welcome four new employees to our Sanitation and Refuse Unit.

They are: Kaweo‘okalani Kaikala, Justin Piamonte, Jonathan Wong and Georgeitte Bush.

Please say hello if you see them. We are happy that they joined our Harbors team and we look forward to the many wonderful contributions to the Harbors community.

After reopening interisland travel, the next step will be reopening out-of-state travel for residents and visitors.

Planning is being done in earnest, but it needs to be a careful, thoughtful process.

We have seen what has happened to other communities that reopened too quickly. There have been new outbreaks. And many of our key visitor markets, such as California, still have large numbers of new cases that are of concern.

Opening interisland travel on June 16 is an important first step because we will be able to refine our systems and processes.

We also have been exploring multiple options to allow a reopening of out-of-state travel, including travel corridors and bubbles, screening and contact tracing. We have made excellent progress in our plans, and I hope to be announcing sometime next week an avenue for reopening out-of-state travel. Everyone in Hawaiʻi has done a great job in coming together to flatten the curve. It’s been difficult, but you followed the mandates, and I am proud of what we have achieved.

And even though we are reopening our community, we all must continue our safe practices: maintain physical distancing, wash your hands, wear your masks, stay home if you feel sick, and avoid large gatherings.

Remember that the best way for us to control the virus is through our own actions. We all need to take personal responsibility. So please, take care of yourself, take care of each other, and most importantly, take care of our community.

Aloha,

Harbors

Kaweo ‘okalani Kaikala Justin Piamonte

Jonathan Wong Georgeitte Bush

TRAVEL continued from page 1