Throughout this year society has faced drastic changes. From closures of schools and Jobs to not being able to leave your home. There have been a few places that were lucky enough to be completely bypassed by the Corona Virus. Unfortunately Hawaii was not one of those places. I live on Oahu which is the Island that sees the most tourism. Here are 5 of the biggest rules that were set into place in hopes of stopping the spread.
1) Always have your mask
Here we have to always wear our mask, and by always I mean as soon as we leave our house it should be on until we reach our car. Going for your morning walk? Wear a mask. Going shopping? No mask no service. Wanted to go to the beach? wear a mask until you hit the water. People here are being cited for not wearing their masks while being outside of their home. Many people are protesting against it, although there are many people who find that wearing the mask and reducing their time outside of their home as protected them this far into the pandemic.
2) No beaches
Our beaches are usually crowed with people. From those on vacation, to those who are there for their daily dose of surfing. Around March our Governor decided it would be best to close our beaches and parks. The rules for the beach is "simple" No sitting in the sand, No parties, and No rock jumping. You are only allowed to be in the water which also includes when you are fishing. So in order to go fishing I need to be in the water? Yes regardless of how you are doing your fishing. Have a net? Get in the water. What about a fishing pole? In the water. People have been sited for lounging on the sand, sitting in their cars, and some even preparing to go diving or surfing. This is one of the biggest things that had upset the local people here, because this is one of our main sources of exercise, entertainment, family bonding and etc.
3) No parks
Our Governor had shut down our parks due to the fact people typically gather here as well for large events such as birthday parties or baby showers. No one is allowed at the parks even if you want to exercise ALONE. Many people feel that it is causing our children to become glued to electronics and neglect their physical health. I live in an apartment with my mother and my 2 younger siblings. My little brother is only 7 and he is always on his phone, watching TV, playing video games and etc. We don't have a yard for him to run around in and with the closures of the parks he is unable to have that freedom of being a wild child that plays in the dirt and falls off the monkey bars.
4) No large gatherings or visitors
Alongside being unable to go to the beach, and dying in our masks, we aren't allowed to be in a group larger than 5 and no one from outside of your household is allowed to be over, with you or etc. For us this rule is completely dumb. If you have any family or friends from Hawaii than you know that NO local family is a size of 5 or less. We have huge families, granted they might not live in the same house hold as us, but we find family to be very important, so we are always going to each other's houses for every occasion. Sometimes it's just to see if what they are cooking for dinner is better than what you were planning to make. Yes, lots of people have already been cited for violating this rule. People were seen at the beaches in large groups, riding in the back of someone's truck, even just walking from one place to another
5) 14-Day Quarantine
Want to come visit Hawaii for a few days? Well I hope you packed enough clothes for a long trip because all visitors are required to do a 14-day self quarantine. This rule still hasn't stuck with those who are visiting. Many people on a daily basis is caught out at our malls, beaches, food places and etc. Although we might not catch every person who is breaking that rule, the locals find it kind of insulting. Why? This is our home and we want to see it back to normal and the only thing we ask of those who are visiting is to respect our home. Meaning please follow any rules set into place, and don't disrespect our Island, people or culture. We really do appreciate those who do follow these rules because it not only allows them time to see if they caught anything, but it also gives us a small period of time to avoid higher cases.
