Governor David Ige and the four county mayors met on Wednesday and on Thursday to discuss when and how to reopen Hawaii’s economy to full out-of-state travel and visitors.
In late June, Gov. Ige announced that the current mandatory 14-day travel quarantine would be lifted on August 1 for those incoming travelers who presented a negative COVID-19 test. The official site of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, gohawaii.org, detailed what is known now about the requirements, but said there is still much to be determined.
States on the mainland, especially California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida, have had alarming increases in case counts. California is one of the main sources of Hawaii tourism. A concern among Hawaii healthcare professionals is the state’s hospital capacity, should Hawaii experience a large spike in cases. On July 6, Dr. Josh Green, the State’s Lieutenant Governor and an Emergency Room doctor, said the state is currently well-positioned to handle a spike, with adequate capacity of hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators.
After the state hit an all-time high daily case count of 41 on July 7, State Health Director Bruce Anderson and State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said the future of the spread of COVID-19 in the state is up to us, that wearing masks and distancing from others is the only way to stop the spread.
Both City and County of Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim have expressed concern about reopening too soon, but also about not having a clear plan so hotels and the visitor industry can plan. The Governor and the Mayors reportedly met for 5 hours on Wednesday and several hours on Thursday. Everybody acknowledges the decisions are not easy, but some decisions must be made.
Today, Gov. Ige released this statement: ““The mayors and I have had productive meetings this week about the pre-travel testing program. We are assessing the current situation in Hawaiʻi and on the mainland, and we’ll make an announcement when we are satisfied that the plans will protect the health and safety of our residents and guests.”
The Governor’s statement gave no indication what the next steps are, nor when he and the County Mayors expect to announce a decision.
