Summer vacationers weigh testing, quarantine
States try to balance containment and encouraging travel
PORTLAND, Maine — Homebound travelers desperate to venture out for the first time since the pandemic are confronting a vacation landscape this summer that may require coronavirus tests for the family and even quarantines.
States from Maine to Hawaii are trying to strike a balance between containing the new coronavirus and encouraging out-ofstate visitors to spend their cash on hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
The measures have gotten a thumbs-down from many in the tourism industry, who fear visitors will choose to wait things out until they can hit the beach without worrying about violating a state-imposed quarantine or searching for a testing site.
During a pandemic, discretion is the better part of valor, said Pauline Frommer, editorial director for Frommers.com and Frommers’ travel guidebooks.
“I think it’s important to look at what our safe options are. You don’t want to die because you went on vacation,” she said.
Some states like Hawaii have settled on quarantines. Maine, Alaska and Vermont have some version of a testing alternative.
In “Vacationland,” as Maine dubs itself, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills thought she was doing the tourism industry a favor by providing an alternative to the 14-day quarantine. Visitors can skip the quarantine altogether if they can show they’ve tested negative for the virus within 72 hours before arrival.
Some innkeepers and restaurateurs complain the measure falls short of what is needed to attract tourists and salvage their summer season.
“We don’t think visitors are going to jump through hoops like that. They’ll just choose another destination,” said Steve Hewins from HospitalityMaine, the state’s tourism trade group.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige extended the state’s mandatory two-week quarantine for all arriving travelers, even as the state scrambles to produce a screening process that could allow some travelers to return.
In Florida, which has recently seen a spike in cases, visitors from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are required to quarantine. New York, meanwhile, is considering requiring Florida visitors to quarantine.
Travelers to Alaska who are tested upon arrival are allowed to avoid further quarantine if they test negative. But they’re encouraged to limit their activities until they obtain a second negative test result.
In Vermont, visitors can cut short the two-week quarantine if they get a test after a week.