Mayor Harry Kim is urging the Hawai‘i Island community on Tuesday to keep up the good work of observing CDC guidelines of face masks, social distancing and hand hygiene over the upcoming July 4 holiday, amid an upsurge of COVID-19 cases on the U.S. Mainland.

County and State workers at parks and beaches will be reminding the public to please refrain from customary large gatherings during the Independence Day weekend, to prevent the spread of the virus. This year, the official observance of Independence Day falls on Friday, July 3, with most traditional festivities cancelled due to the pandemic.

“Hawai‘i remains in a very good place with the lowest case count per capita in the nation, thanks to you following these preventive measures,” Mayor Kim said. “Let’s continue to keep Hawai‘i safe by following these measures, and we’ll get through this together as a community.”
Hawai‘i County workers have been posting highly-visible signs in all of its public rest rooms and other facilities which say “Help Keep Hawai‘i Safe.”  The Departments of Public Works and Parks and Recreation continues to deploy disinfection teams known as “Bug Busters” to sanitize high touch surfaces such as hand rails, traffic buttons and park areas.

“With everyone practicing these preventive measures and encouraging others to do so, too, we’ll get through this together,” Mayor Kim said, wishing everyone a happy and healthy Fourth of July weekend.