Maui County seeks to stop bar service for two-week stint… Mayor hopes that temporary closure will stop uptick in cases
Maui County is seeking to close down bars and bar service areas for two weeks to try and stop the uptick in COVID-19 cases that officials say are coming from “bar-like” behavior.
Mayor Michael Victorino said the county still needs to get approval from Gov. David Ige, but if the request is granted, the shutdown would go into effect from 12:01 a.m. Saturday through Dec. 26.
“The rationale behind this is above almost 35 to 40 percent of the latest outbreak have been bar-related activities or bar hopping,” Victorino told The Maui News on Wednesday afternoon. “We felt that (closing bars) was prudent at this point because the numbers have stayed double digits pretty much consistently.”
