Governor David Ege announced today that trans-Pacific tourists in Hawaii, who cannot take a negative pre-arrival test at arrival, will not be able to bypass the 14-day quarantine once their test arrives.
“The change starts on Tuesday and does not apply to international travel,” Ege said during a media briefing today. He also clarified that trans-Pacific passengers do not need to have the test results uploaded to a safe travel air site and can be exempted from quarantine even if they carry a valid negative COVID-19 test in hand.
The continent’s U.S. And in response to the dramatically increasing number of COVID-19 cases worldwide, we are now adding these safety precautions. “%%% passengers currently taking part in the pre-travel testing program for Hawaii come here with their test in hand. But at least 44 passengers, who took the pre-departure travel test, got a positive result after arrival or a day or two later. It’s not a big number, but it’s enough to change the policy. ”
IJ also announced that the state of Canada, Hawaii’s second largest international market, is joining the pre-arrival pre-arrival testing program, with South Korea and Taiwan coming soon.
As of October 15, local trans-Pacific “passengers who, upon entering the state, receive written confirmation of a negative test result from a test administered to a passenger within the final from૨ hours from a state-approved COVID-19 testing facility. Departure leg” is exempt from mandatory quarantine.
Passengers arriving with the result of the pending examination are allowed to exit the quarantine after being checked by the state’s safe travel air system.
Lieutenant Governorate. Josh Green said during the briefing that about %% of people come to Hawaii as part of the Safe Travel Air program, either they did not get their exam results on time or they faced challenges in uploading it.
However, the state quickly found itself in the backlog of pending tests. Passengers were disappointed as they waited three to four days or more for a review on their own. At one low point, there were more than 3,700 passengers waiting to get out of the quarantine. Leela said the numbers are better now, but it’s still worrying.
“This is a very strict policy,” John D. Fries, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, told his board today. “This is brought about by the number of people who are left with test results that are pending with the test. That part of the tourist has caused a lot of work in the system and an obstacle. ”
While state officials associate most of Hawaii’s COVID-19 cases with local spreads, IJ said, “We certainly expect there will be some covid cases that will be introduced due to travel.”
So far, Leela said surveillance testing has shown that the positivity rate is less than 1 in every 700 passengers arriving in Hawaii, “meaning we are able to contain that spread.”
The IJA said the state is working to keep cases involving Covid-19 passengers down by arrival testing and reduce the spread by partnering with hotels and other members of the visiting industry. The state is also the only one in the country that offers thermal screening at airports.
The state’s approach to the recovery of the trip was preceded by safety.
It was not until November 6 that the first international visitors were allowed to participate in the state’s pre-travel testing program under an agreement that allowed Japanese travelers to visit Hawaii under the same program as domestic travelers.
Only a few thousand visitors from Japan are expected to come to Hawaii during the rest of this year.
Canada’s early recovery is as challenging as Japan’s – a requirement that citizens returning abroad be quarantined for 14 days after returning home.
However, some eligible international passengers returning to Alberta at selected airports and border crossings may participate in the Alberta COVID-19 Border Testing Pilot Program that allows reduced exposure. Currently, the program is only available at Quantum Land Border Crossing or Calgary International Airport, not eligible passengers arriving from other airports in Canada.
De Fries said it was too early to estimate how much Canadian travel demand for Hawaii would be met.
Still, the plight of international visitors, no matter how small, is still an important step in reviving Hawaii’s economy as not all of the state’s visitor industry structure is built around catering to local visitors.
