Oct. 16, 2020
Business owners feel discriminated against
Tourism can open, but they can’t
HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I — Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine staged a virtual town hall for local businesses today in which they expressed great frustration. Business owners note that they are not being allowed to operate despite increased safety protocols they have put in place — at great expense — in addition to the already-stringent safety protocols that were already being observed.
“The blanket tiered system that is now in place is hurting local businesses, many of which have permanently shut down. The mayor and governor should switch to a system that instead, measures an individual business’ ability to keep customers safe and prevents the COVID-19 virus from spreading,” said Councilmember Pine.
“It’s clear that many businesses are being discriminated against when tourism is allowed to open, yet local businesses must remain closed. Local leaders admit that there is a 20 percent chance for a visitor to bring in the virus despite being tested,” she said.
View the virtual town hall: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1257937777918626
Councilmember Kym Pine represents residents of District One (ʻEwa, ʻEwa Beach, Kapolei, Honokai Hale, Ko ʻOlina, Nānākuli, Mā‘ili, Wai‘anae, Mākaha, Kea‘au, Mākua) and is chair of the City Council’s Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism.
Media Contact:
Erika Engle
Communications Director
erika [dot] engle honolulu [dot] gov
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