Hawaii Becomes Last US State to Lift Mask Mandate

People view Sandy Beach, on the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii, on Feb. 22, 2022. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

Hawaii will become the last U.S. state to lift its universal indoor mask mandate.

Gov. David Ige announced the decision on March 8 during a press briefing, saying the measure would end on March 26.

“We have reduced COVID-19 in a way to the point where most of us will be safe without masks indoors,” the governor said.

“It’s taken the entire community to get to this point—with lowered case counts and hospitalizations,” Ige, a Democrat, said in a tweet.

“If we see another surge, we will be ready to reinstitute the mask policy, if needed.”

The mandate will be lifted the same day Hawaii’s Safe Travels program, established to curb the transmission of COVID-19, is set to expire. Those arriving from other places in the United States will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to avoid quarantining for five days.

The announcement comes a day after Puerto Rico announced that its mask requirement would be dropped and that its COVID-19 travel restrictions would end.

“I want to once again thank everyone for their hard work and commitment to keeping our community safe. I know this is a milestone many have been waiting for,” Ige said on Twitter.

He said Hawaii’s COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations were decreasing. The seven-day new case average was about 140, he said; a week ago, it was more than 300. There were 48 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on March 8. He said that was the first time the number had been under 50 since around last summer.

He said he expects the downward trend to continue.

Gov. David Ige speaks to reporters at the state Department of Health's laboratory in Pearl City, Hawaii, on March 3, 2020. Audrey McAvoy/AP Photo

Since April 2020, the state of Hawaii has required face masks. At first, it was both indoors and outdoors.

Ige said Hawaii’s culture of caring for others, especially kupuna (Hawaiian for older people), helped the state tolerate the mask rule for so long.

“I do believe that we are the last community to release the mask mandate because we care about each other and we care about our community and we are all willing to sacrifice to keep each other healthy and safe,” he said.

The governor said he believes those rules contributed to Hawaii having among the lowest rates of COVID-19 in the country.

Hawaii health officials still recommend wearing masks indoors at schools, hospitals, prisons, and other “congregate living settings.”

Ige also said that “organizations and businesses can choose to implement restrictions that they feel would be appropriate.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.