As the state on Tuesday rolled back social gathering limits and business capacities, Maui County clarified that it already had most of the rules in place for some time.

Maui County since at least mid-June had social gathering limits set to 10 people indoors and no more than 25 people outdoors. Also, indoor capacities for restaurants, bars and social establishment guidelines were already at 50 percent, according to its June 15 public health emergency rules posted on the county website.

“It doesn’t really change our approach — we just ask everyone to understand, our commercial entities and others, to step up to the plate to protect their employees, their visitors and their consumers,” Mayor Michael Victorino said during the county news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Maui County leaders also clarified that they don’t categorize the First Amendment right to assemble and petition as a “social gathering.”

Rallies Monday and last week in Wailuku have drawn hundreds to protest against state and county vaccination mandates recently implemented for state and county employees along with public high school athletics. Another such rally is slated this Friday in Wailuku.

“We don’t consider a peaceful protest to be a social gathering and even during a pandemic, we need to respect our residents’ First Amendment rights,” Maui County spokesman Brian Perry told The Maui News Tuesday afternoon.

After multiple reporters queried officials about the protests in light of new statewide gathering limits, Maui District Health Officer Dr. Lorrin Pang said “at least they’re outdoors.”

“There’s something magic about being outdoors in Hawaii because you have the breeze and the ventilation,” he added during the county news conference.

County Managing Director Sandy Baz during an earlier state news conference Tuesday said that the mayor backs constitutional rights of free speech and the ability to assemble.

“Mayor Victorino has always supported people’s right to express their freedoms and express their speech,” he said. “We will be working with the Maui Police Department to make sure that people there are doing it safely and that they are following whatever rules the governor has set forth here.”

Pointing to recent record-setting COVID-19 cases for Hawaii due to the highly transmissible delta variant, Gov. David Ige on Tuesday afternoon signed an executive order setting statewide limits for social gatherings, restaurants, bars and social establishments. 

The measures, which will remain in place until Oct. 18 unless another order is issued, include the following: 

• Social gatherings will be limited to no more than 10 people indoors and no more than 25 outdoors.

• Patrons in restaurants, bars and social establishments must remain seated with parties maintaining at least 6-foot distancing between groups (with maximum groups size of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors); there will be no mingling, and masks must be worn at all times except when actively eating or drinking.

• The counties will review proposals for all professionally sponsored events for more than 50 people to ensure that appropriate safe practices will be implemented. Organizers of these professional events must notify and consult with specific county agencies prior to the event. In Maui County, call 270-7855 or send email to mayors.office@co.maui.hi.us.

County approval is required for professional events comprising more than 50 people.

• For all high-risk activities, including bars, restaurants, gyms and social establishments, indoor capacity is set at 50 percent.

The state added that the new limitations will not affect the counties’ COVID-19 policies regarding weddings, churches or other structured events.

“The delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has changed the course of the pandemic in Hawaii — We are seeing case numbers in the 600s — the highest numbers we’ve seen since this pandemic began,” Ige said in a news release. “This requires immediate and serious attention to avert unmanageable strains on our healthcare system and other catastrophic impacts to the state.”

The new statewide mandates apply to Hawaii counties that had moved to ease some of the restrictions prior to the delta variant taking hold in the community, according to Josiah Nishita, county deputy managing director.

“Mayor Victorino saw some of the outcomes of what was happening on the Mainland and other areas in relation to the delta variant,” he said during the county news conference. “In order to protect our community, he really stood strong with those existing provisions and now the state is rolling back to where we’ve been during this time.”

Baz told The Maui News that the only rule different between the county and the state is the gym capacity guideline. Currently, county rules mandate 6 feet of social distancing in gyms. Now, the state’s rule of 50 percent capacity for gyms, which is more restrictive, will supersede the county order.

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.