Ko Olina closed their lagoons to the Public (and resort residents) fairly early in the COVID-19 pandemic for safety reasons. The lagoons were opened once or twice during the past few months, but the parking lots remained closed. If you wanted to swim in the lagoons at this time, you had to either walk to the lagoons, or have someone drop you off. There were periods when you could swim in the lagoons but were not allowed to sit on the beaches. Other times the lagoon walkways & comfort stations were closed and those who wanted to walk in the resort had to walk along the streets and sidewalks rather than the lagoons.
Like with a lot of rules and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic this became quite confusing to most everyone involved. All this was done in the interest of safety. Trying to keep the public, resort residents and resort employees safe.
The closing of the lagoons and beaches, perhaps along with the confusion upset quite a few people. Residents of the resort complained, as did neighbors of the resort. There were editorials written in the local papers and comments left on news sites and of course on social media. Eventually, the City & County of Honolulu told resort management they had to open the beaches and parking lots. After what seemed like several days of discussions between the city and the resort, the beaches. and lagoons were opened to the public on October 16.
As of this writing, social distancing must still be practiced while at the lagoons and on the beach. Groups at the lagoons are limited to a maximum of five people and masks must be worn when people are not in the water. Some of those restrictions will be relaxed if the County moves into Tier 2 of their reopening plan. Although the lagoons, beaches and parking lots have been opened, parking at lagoons 1 & 4 is at only 50% at this time with every other parking space blocked off.
Social Distancing for Cars?
Maybe Cars Can Transmit the Virus?
The lagoons, beaches and parking lots are open again. Yes, there are restrictions and parking is more limited than usual but I believe most people are happy about all that. Even on a recent cloudy day the beaches were busy with families enjoying themselves. Remember, COVID-19 Virus is still a danger and Ko Olina Management is trying to keep people safe.