Governor David Ige says the 14-day interisland travel quarantine will be eliminated starting Saturday, June 16, 2020. He says new measures will be in place to make that possible–health screenings, temperature checks, and interisland travel forms to be able to track where people are.
Lt. Governor Josh Green says interisland travel will be safe, with all the screenings and new protocols to ensure people are safe. In addition, with the low increase in case count over the last days–12 in the last week and zero today–it is clear there is not much virus spread in the state. And there have been no new fatalities for 4 weeks, and the state’s death count of 17 is the lowest mortality rate in the nation. He did warn that COVID-19 cases will likely pop up a bit, but hospitals throughout the state have adequate beds, ICU beds, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment to handle new cases, as they arise.
State officials reinforced the need to wear masks and continue physical distancing and frequent hand washing.
Attorney General Clare Connor said there will be a new not-yet-finalized mandatory form to include health information and travel information, which may be completed before coming to the airport; and a thermal temperature screen. Individuals traveling between islands will be checked against the still-mandatory 14-day travel quarantine list for out-of-state travelers.
Peter Ingram, President and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines said HAL has new procedures such as plexiglass barriers at check in counters and additional sanitizing, in addition to cleaning and sanitizing procedures previously announced. All passengers must wear masks. He also said the air inside the plane comes in from outside and is filtered through HEPA filters, similar to what is used in hospitals.
Ingram said there are 5 daily roundtrip flights between Honolulu and Kona and Honolulu and Hilo (and to Maui and Kaua’i). They are currently running at around 20% to 30% full, so there is plenty of capacity for people to fly. He said if the demand requires, they will add more flights.
Gov. Ige said he expects to next week make an announcement about flights coming in from out of state.
State Senate President Ron Kouci and State House Speaker Scott Saiki also spoke and said they support the Governor’s plan.
