Only a Week to Go Until All of Maui Can Yell 'Olly Olly Oxen Free'!

Maui residents and visitors alike are anxiously awaiting the time ~ only a week away! ~ when they no longer have to panic and pat their pockets looking for face masks just to enter a store or restaurant.

The State of Hawaii previously announced that the statewide indoor mask requirement related to COVID-19 will end at 11:59 p.m. March 25.

“Together, we have reduced COVID-19 in Hawai‘i to the point where most of us will be safe without masks indoors,” said Gov. David Ige.

Hospitalizations are trending downward, case counts are declining, booster shots are saving lives, and the federal Center for Disease Control has rated the state’s COVID-19 community level as “low,” Ige noted.

Some Maui residents rejoiced, while other remain skeptical that the seemingly never-ending pandemic and restrictions will continue on Maui somehow in perpetuity.

For updates, subscribe to our free newsletter!

"Hallelujah! It's like Christmas Eve around here!," said Kyle Hendrix, manager of a shave ice booth in Kihei. "You wait around, year after year, and sometimes you just can't believe the date is approaching."

"We're going to run up and down Kihei Road yelling, 'Olly olly oxen free!' to let all the very fearful people still hiding in their homes know that they can come out and play," said Rebecca Winston, a visitor from Moorpark, Calif. "It's like some of us have been playing Hide-and-Seek for a couple of years."

Yet some visitors near Hendrix's booth on Friday remain suspicious. Andrea Wellington of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is in the first week of a planned 3-week stay in Wailea.

She said she remembers that last few times that Gov. Ige promised to reduce or end restrictions, only to have the "temporary emergency" rules continued. It was like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown in the "Peanuts" comic, she said.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me past Tier 5, shame on me," Wellington said. "If it sticks, they should make March 25 like Ground Hog Day in Maui, where every year on that date we check to see if we can go in to eat at a restaurant like normal, or have to wear a face mask for another 6 weeks."

Indeed, as part of Ige's announcement last week, he stated the state will continue to "be ready to reinstitute the mask policy if COVID case numbers surge.”

The state still strongly recommends people over age 65, those with compromised immune systems, people not vaccinated, and those who care for people at risk of severe illness still wear masks indoors. Especially in crowded settings.

Settings where masks are still recommended indoors include:

• Schools
• Hospitals and health care facilities
• Long term care facilities
• Shelters
• Correctional facilities
• Other congregate living settings

Simple Rules Going Forward

• Consider masks where vaccination statuses are unknown
• Stay up-to-date on vaccinations and booster shots
• Get tested if you feel sick, are a close contact, before and after travel, or getting together with other people
• Remain at home if sick
• Wash hands frequently

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines and tests, visit www.hawaiicovid19.com.