Governor David Ige announced on Monday that the launch of the pre-travel testing program is now delayed from August 1 to September 1.
Travelers from out of state who within 72 hours in advance of traveling have a valid negative COVID-19 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) test, which includes what most people know as a PCR test, will have the 14-day quarantine waived. Passengers whose test result has not been returned by the time they arrive in Hawaii must stay in quarantine until the test results are received by the state. This includes children of all ages, according to a press release sent out following the Governor’s news conference.
Gov. Ige said passengers will have their temperature taken upon arrival, and will need to present a travel form indicating where they may be reached while in Hawaii.
Gov. Ige and University of Hawaii President David Lassner said there is a different protocol for university students on O’ahu and Kaua’i, as those mayors have agreed to the modification to allow college students to return to the state in August with an exception to the 14-day quarantine. Because the pre-travel test program won’t go into effect August 1 as initially anticipated, when most students will return to campus, there’s a separate program for them.
Students with a negative test, instead of being in a full lockdown for 14 days, will be in a modified”bubble” quarantine. With a negative test, they may participate in university activities during the 14 days they’d normally be in quarantine. Other than classes and university activities, those students will stay in their place of residence, and the university will ensure they get their meals and daily health checks. The health checks will inquire about symptoms or exposure to anybody diagnosed with COVID-19.
If the student does not have a negative test, they would have to adhere to the full 14-day travel quarantine and would not be allowed to participate in university activities. Lassner said more information would be released within the next couple of days.
This applies to students at Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University, Brigham Young University, and the entire University of Hawaii system but does not apply to students at campuses on Maui and on the Big Island –including University of Hawaii at Hilo. Gov. Ige said Mayor Mike Victorino (Maui) and Mayor Harry Kim (Hawaii Island) would not agree to the modification for students.
Gov. Ige said the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the state plus the huge surge of cases on the mainland caused him and the four county mayors to rethink the August 1 initial date. He said he understands the burden this places on the people of Hawaii, and especially on small businesses which depend on tourism for their livelihood.
State Director of Health Bruce Anderson said one cluster related to a Hawaiian Airlines training class now includes 24 people, 16 employees and 8 people in close contact with those initial people. He said there are also 20 cases associated with two gyms on O’ahu.
One employee at Kona Community Hospital has COVID-19, and Anderson said he expects we’ll hear more about that case in the next several days.
Anderson says O’ahu’s recent increase in cases is mostly related to community spread, and on the neighbor islands, most cases are the result of travel or people who’ve been in close contact with those who have traveled. He said the only way to stop the spread of COVID-19 is for people to wear masks and to stay distant from each other. He also said some of the O’ahu cases–the gyms–were contracted in closed-in areas, so he stressed that being in well-ventilated areas or outdoors is helpful in not spreading COVID-19.
Gov. Ige said at an briefing earlier Monday before the State House Select Committee on COVID-19 that by the end of July, the state will have around 400 contact tracers in place to handle the job if the state continues to have increases in cases.
He also said the state will extend the moratorium on evictions through the end of August.
