A new emergency rule announced by Mayor Harry Kim requires essential businesses to refuse service to customers who do not wear “face masks or coverings.”
The rule, which went into effect Tuesday, imposes additional requirements on top of those mandated by an emergency proclamation issued by Gov. David Ige last week in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
While Ige’s order requires masks or coverings for all customers and customer-facing employees, Kim’s order goes further, requiring businesses to refuse service to customers failing to wear masks and mandating that hand sanitizing stations are set up at business entrances, which all customers are required to use.
The only customers exempt from the mask requirement are those 5 years old or younger and those who have health or medical conditions that would be impeded by a mask, and anyone unable to remove the mask without assistance.
“This is a community issue, and we all need to do our part,” Kim said Tuesday, adding that the county is “ramping up” its COVID-19 prevention measures partially in response to the cluster of 32 cases that developed in connection with two McDonald’s locations in Kailua-Kona.
“After the McDonald’s situation, we realized we had to reinforce the governor’s proclamation,” Kim said. “The last three people we tested in Kona were all asymptomatic but came back positive, so obviously these rules are very important.”
Kim said the county COVID-19 Prevention and Education Task Force will check in on essential businesses to ensure they are complying with the rules.
Although Kim said he does not want to penalize people, he added incidents of noncompliance should be reported to the task force. Those with concerns are advised to contact Hawaii County Civil Defense, which is part of the task force, at 935-0031.
Kim also said the county will help businesses provide hand sanitizer, which is in short supply, for their sanitizing stations. He didn’t provide specifics about how that would work, although he said Walmart expressed concerns about how to supply hand sanitizer under the new rule.
Kim’s new rule, known as Rule 3, also includes a host of other requirements and recommendations, including a mandate for businesses to establish policies to discourage hoarding and post signs communicating special hours for high-risk populations.
The rule also strongly recommends — but does not require — businesses to limit the number of simultaneous customers to one per 250 square feet in order to maintain a 6-foot social distancing bubble around all customers and employees.
The rule also requires businesses that handle food production and consumption to have employees use gloves while handling food, and employees who handle any payment transaction by cash or credit card must sanitize or change gloves before serving the next customer.
All businesses are furthermore required to assign, train and schedule employees to sanitize carts, conveyors, counters, handles, knobs and other common touch areas.
Employees also must do a self-check prior to starting their shift to monitor for any COVID-19 symptoms.
If an employee feels ill, they must immediately notify their supervisor and leave the premises, the rule states, further stipulating that the employee must seek medical attention if symptoms persist and shall not return to work until they are symptom-free for a minimum of 72 hours. If an employee tests positive for the virus, they shall not return to work until staying home and being symptom-free for 14 days.
On the county’s Mass Transit buses, riders ages 5 years and older must wear face coverings or masks to prevent the spread of the virus, with exemptions for people with health or medical conditions that prohibit their use. Riders who refuse to wear a mask will not be allowed to board or enter the bus.
Violators of Rule 3 are subject to a fine of up to $5,000, one year imprisonment or both.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
