Review of our Re-opening Guidelines
Part I: Our Common Purpose
The first section of our Reopening Guidelines provides the following opening statement from President Grace:
Safety Guidelines for Re-opening
These safety guidelines comply with all state and city laws, mandates, and orders pertaining to our daily operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the state and city revise their laws, mandates, and orders pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Polynesian Cultural Center in turn will revise these safety guidelines to remain in full compliance. Mahalo.
The island of Oahu experienced such a change this last weekend. We thought it would be informative to provide you with an overview of some of the applicable language from the Mayor’s order.
The following is from the Mayor Caldwell’s press released detailing Order #2020-23, posted on August 7, 2020, which explain how 501(c)3s, such as the Polynesian Cultural Center and universities are categorized within these mandates:
- For the purposes of this Order, Covered Businesses include any for-profit, nonprofit, or educational entities, regardless of the nature of the service, the function they perform, or its corporate or entity structure.
- For the purpose of this Order, Essential Businesses include: Educational institutions—including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—for purposes of facilitating distance learning, performing critical research, or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible;
The following is the City’s Statement of Intent, which briefly outlines many of the mandated protective actions now in place:
INTENT The intent of this Order is to ensure that the maximum number of people self-isolate in their places of residence to the maximum extent feasible to continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible, while
also enabling essential services and the reopening of designated businesses and operations with modifications to re-establish continuity of social and commercial life. When people need to leave their places of residence, whether to obtain or perform vital services or to otherwise facilitate authorized activities necessary for continuity of social and commercial life, they shall, as applicable and at all times reasonably possible, comply with Social Distancing Requirements as defined in Section II.K. The intent is also to ensure that when people within the City interact with one another they maintain six (6) feet of physical distance from others, and wear face coverings (especially when indoors). All provisions of this Order should be interpreted to effectuate this intent.
As President Grace shared in his post from Monday’s update, “it is a blessing to have had no known cases of COVID-19 at the PCC, and I know we all want to keep it that way.”