Hawaii Expected to Delay Reopening for Travel from Mainland

Starting August 1, Hawaii was set to lift quarantine requirements for visitors if they had a valid COVID-19 test prior to their arrival, and show proof of a negative test result. But, a recent increase of COVID-19 cases on the mainland, and in Hawaii, was a major part of the conversation between Hawaii Governor David Ige and the four county mayors who are expected to delay changing the current rules.

“There’s no doubt that we will delay the timeline. The only question is, will we be capable of giving a specific date so that people can begin the next stage of plans, or are things too chaotic that we have to just pause?” said Lieutenant Governor Josh Green, KHON reports. Part of this is making sure that the pre-testing plan is a solid one, since many mainland states like California, Florida and Texas are seeing surges in recent weeks in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

“We’re asking our hotels once visitors come in…all our vacation accommodations…to have a check-in system and to be monitoring if anyone shows any signs that the Dept. of Health and health providers are notified immediately,” said Maui County Mayor Mike Victorino.

Mayor Victorino said they are also re-evaluating the checks at the airport, and whether thermal screening and the travel health form are enough to ensure the safety of Hawaii residents.