Whereas we await the small print of Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program, we thought it could be a good suggestion to clarify a bit of bit who the important thing resolution makers are and their space of affect.
State Degree
Let’s begin on the state degree the place it’s simple. Hawaii’s prime elected-officials who’re creating insurance policies to restrict the unfold of COVID-19 are as follows:
Governor – David Ige
Director of Health – Dr. Bruce Anderson
Director of Hawaii Emergency Management – Main Normal Kenneth Hara
Lieutenant Governor – Dr. Josh Inexperienced
Along with these prime officers, there are additionally Hawaii house of representatives in addition to Hawaii senators which might be elected by districts.
County Degree
Very often, Governor Ige states that he’s making choices together with the county mayors. So, let’s tackle who they’re and the county group.
Hawaii has 4 counties. The names and group of the counties may not be as you anticipate. At the least they weren’t to me once I first appeared into the construction a few years in the past.
The 4 counties and their mayors are organized as follows:
Hawaii County consists of all the island of Hawaii, which is also referred to as the Massive Island. The county mayor is Harry Kim. The web site for Hawaii County is hawaiicounty.gov.
Maui County consists of the islands of Maui, Lanai and Molokai. The county mayor is Michael Victorino. The web site for Maui County is mauicounty.gov.
Metropolis and County of Honolulu consists of all the island of Oahu. The county mayor is Kirk Caldwell. The web site for the Metropolis and County of Honolulu is honolulu.gov.
Kauai County consists of all the island of Kauai. (We’re unclear if the island of Ni’ihau is included in Kauai County or not. Ni’ihau is sparsely populated, privately owned and guests aren’t allowed to freely go to.) The county mayor is Derek Kawakami. The web site for the County of Kauai is kauai.gov.
The county mayors are the highest elected officers on the county degree. They make extra particular choices for his or her county with the permission of Governor Ige. For instance, the mayor of the Metropolis and County of Honolulu lately ordered the closure of bars for 3 weeks for his county. One other instance is at the beginning of the virus unfold, the mayor of Kauai ordered curfews.
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Whereas it may be straightforward to second guess a few of the mandates, we don’t envy the troublesome choices that they’ve needed to make in latest months.
