Crowds filled Oahu’s beaches, parks and backyards to celebrate Independence Day, but without freedom from mandated COVID-19 restrictions.

And with good reason. The coronavirus did not take a holiday on Saturday, as the state Health Department reported 24 new cases, bringing Hawaii’s statewide total to 999 since the start of the outbreak. The new cases included 19 on Oahu, two on Kauai, two on Hawaii island and one on Maui.

As of Saturday, there were 224 active cases in Hawaii, with a total of 756 patients classified by health officials as “released from isolation.” The category counts infected people who met the criteria for being released from isolation.

The death toll from COVID-19 remained at 19.

Heading into the holiday weekend, Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Thursday announced a stricter face mask mandate for all indoor public spaces as well as outdoors when physical distancing is difficult to maintain.

Public fireworks displays and parades were canceled due to concerns about large gatherings contributing to the spread of the virus, but many picnickers and beachgoers at sites visited by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser seemed lax about the need for face masks and social distancing.

By 1 p.m., most of the space along the water between Queen’s Beach and Kaimana Beach in Waikiki was packed with tents and people. Palolo resident Jake Delaura and dozens of family members set up near the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium as early as 4:30 a.m. to reserve a good corner spot that would provide distance from other beachgoers.

“(COVID-19) is there, but you can’t let that deter you,” said Delaura, who was not wearing a face covering.

At Ala Moana Beach Park, John Guerrero tested out a new fishing pole, accompanied by his wife, Anita. The couple had planned to spend the day alone together.

“Not that I’m not affected by it that much, but it’s what has to be done right now,” she said.

A party “floatilla” that was supposed to mob an unnamed East Honolulu beach apparently failed to materialize. The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement on Friday warned against such gatherings and threatened to arrest violators, who could have been subject to a $5,000 fine and a year in jail.

This year’s holiday was not without incident, however.

A 55-year-old man died after apparently falling off a boat into the ocean off Fort DeRussy at about 8:30 a.m., according to Shayne Enright of the city’s Emergency Services Department. A surfer saw the man in distress and started CPR while also alerting first-responders.

Ocean Safety personnel brought the man to shore, where further resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, Enright said. His name has not been released and the cause of death had yet to be determined.

Ocean Safety crews were busy elsewhere Saturday, making more than 90 rescues across Oahu. Fifty-two of the rescues were on the eastern shores of the island, with most of those at Sandy Beach, Enright said. There were 23 rescues on the south shore, 12 on the west side and five on the north shore.

In Kailua, over 50 people waved Hawaii state flags along Kailua Road on Saturday afternoon in response to a video that showed Michael Fry of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce breaking down a Hawaiian lele, or altar, that had been placed among hundreds of small American flags planted in the grass median as part of the chamber’s 1,000 Flags campaign.

A separate video showed someone removing some of the U.S. flags from the ground and lele holding Hawaii flags installed before Fry dismantled one of the structures. Three lele were taken down.

Mara Bacon-Chang, who was born and raised in Kailua, said it’s the first time American flags were displayed in such a manner to commemorate Independence Day. Usually there is a big parade held in Kailua, but this year it was canceled.

“With the parade, I don’t like it, I don’t care for it. It’s kind of a slap in the face … but I just choose not to participate,” she said. “But this is just too much. Sticking (the flags) in the ground, leaving it, making it like it’s representative of Kailua — it’s not representative of Kailua.”

Kailua resident Kawena Phillips said the flags were a reminder of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.

“Displaying that many American flags on July Fourth is harmful to Hawaiians. It’s painful. … It’s historical trauma,” he said. “And you know, especially because July Fourth is not necessarily Independence Day in Hawaii.”

Fry issued a statement Saturday apologizing for his actions.

“I want to personally apologize for any hurt that I have caused by removing the structures and Hawaiian Flags,” Fry said. “I was following guidance provided and adhering to our permit. … I’ve learned from my mistakes and will make better decisions in the future.”

Meanwhile, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported Saturday that 786 visitors were among the 2,300-plus passengers who flew into the state Friday. They were joined by 606 returning residents.

Of the 625 visitors to Oahu, 468 indicated on a travel declaration form they were visiting friends and family. Hawaii island received 117 visitors, with Maui seeing 44 visitor arrivals. None disembarked on Kauai.

An additional 146 people said they flew to Hawaii with the intention to move here.