The Senate Health Committee, chaired by Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, and the House Committee on Pandemic and Disaster Preparedness will be holding a joint informational briefing with the four island counties and the Department of Health to receive an update on current COVID-19 numbers and trends and to discuss their future response including the potential threat for other variants and triggers to respond to potential surges.
The briefing will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 1:00 p.m in Conference Room 225 and via Zoom. This joint informational briefing comes just one day after the Governor announced his decision to end the statewide indoor mask mandate on March 25th.
Regarding that decision, Senator Keohokalole issued the following statement.
“It is great news to hear that the Governor will lift the statewide mask mandate after nearly two years. I believe that he was right to move cautiously to lift pandemic restrictions, but it is time.
I’m proud of the people of Hawaii for enduring through this terrible COVID-19 pandemic as a community. I ask that our community continue to respect one another, especially if residents and businesses in our community choose to continue wearing masks or requiring masks in their own homes or businesses.
As we move to a world where COVID-19 becomes a permanent part of life, I am encouraged that we can still do so with aloha and appreciation for the special nature of our community. Hawaii has consistently remained one of the safest places in the country–and in the world–in terms of COVID-19 deaths. We should continue to be vigilant should a variant or future surge return to Hawaii, but we should be proud of our collective achievement as we reach this significant milestone.”
For more information on the informational briefing, visit http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2022/hearingnotices/HEARING_HTH-PDP_03-09-22_INFO_.HTM
