County to stick with pre-travel testing plan
Despite concerns, Ige says program still set to launch Oct. 15
Maui County officials said Wednesday that they will move forward with the state’s plan to require pre-travel testing starting Oct. 15, as Hawaii and Kauai counties held off on a final decision.
“We have not opted out,” Managing Director Sandy Baz said at a county news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite Neighbor Island concerns, Gov. David Ige expressed confidence over the highly anticipated but thrice-delayed testing plan, saying it will, in fact, move forward a week from today.
“We have completed all the preparations necessary to implement the program on Oct. 15,” he said Wednesday during an Oahu news conference. “I’m confident we will launch a program on Oct. 15.”
The program, initially slated to start Aug. 1, gives trans-Pacific arrivals an option to bypass the 14-day mandatory quarantine with a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of their trip’s final leg. A nucleic acid amplification test must be taken with “trusted testing partners” listed on the state’s official website at hawaiicovid19.com/travel.
Viewed as an effort to reopen tourism, Hawaii’s leading economy, the program has also been a focal point for residents who have planned Mainland trips based on the launch date. It was pushed back in August and September due to COVID-19 surges, mainly on Oahu and the Mainland.
Leading up to the program’s launch, though, uncertainty loomed over whether county mayors would opt out.
Neighbor Island mayors, including Mayor Michael Victorino, have been pressing for a mandatory second test taken within 72 hours of arrival, a proposal that was recently shut down by the state.
Ige, who gave mayors the choice to “opt out,” said Wednesday that he had not yet received an official request from any county mayor to “opt out” of the program.
Also, with the interisland quarantine still in place, disunity remained Wednesday among county mayors.
The state has deferred to the counties on the interisland program, which requires 14-day self-quarantine for Neighbor Island arrivals. The program was reinstated in August as a way to curb the spread as cases surged on Oahu, the only island that has no quarantine for interisland arrivals.
“We understand there is some frustration with interisland quarantine,” Ige said. “The mayors and I
continue to talk about that and find solutions to maintain public safety and keep our communities safe. We know many in our community want to travel interisland without a quarantine.”
Baz said Maui County has recently placed a request with the state seeking to mandate that interisland travelers comply with the same rules as trans-Pacific ones when traveling to Maui County. Essentially, that would mean a resident flying from Kauai to Maui County would have to produce a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure, he said.
Also, instead of mandating a second, or post-travel test, Maui County is now asking that the state allow the county to “urge” trans-Pacific visitors, including residents, to voluntarily take a second test within 72 hours of arrival and quarantine until results are negative.
Baz said that the county is looking into mobile providers who would take tests to hotels and resorts, along with other locations, so travelers would not have to leave voluntary quarantine.
Maui County has also requested that the state roll out its contact tracing app before the trans-Pacific travel program launches next week.
“This is vital in ensuring we can limit any potential spread in the future,” Baz said.
Finally, the county has asked that the state relax quarantine measures for residents traveling solely within their own county, such as Mauians traveling to Lanai. The request would lift the 14-day quarantine and exempt these travelers from possible pre-travel testing rules.
Ige said during the news conference that “we don’t expect a rush of travelers next week” once the trans-Pacific program starts.
He added that airline carriers have said they won’t increase routes to Hawaii until November, and hotels are gradually reopening through the month of December.
“All of our partners involved in the pre-travel testing program, government, airlines, the private sector, are using the Oct. 15 date to focus our efforts on ensuring the health and safety of our community,” Ige said.
Although the state shut down the mayors’ proposal for a second test, saying it will deter travel, deplete testing resources and prove difficult to enforce, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that the state is continuing the discussion with the mayors on post-travel testing and surveillance testing.
Green said a surveillance program with testing partners CVS, Walgreens and Vault is anticipated to launch Oct. 19. The pilot plan would incentivize a second test within 72 hours of arrival for 10 percent of travelers to Hawaii.
“We do not expect a large
number of travelers to have COVID,” he said. “By doing this we can reassure ourselves.”
Green said that a second test will give the state more data.
“It’s meant to be an insurance policy that within the time they got the test, we’re not seeing a lot of individuals who have gotten sick en route, or in an airport,” he said. “We don’t
believe that’s a big concern but we are trying to decrease people’s anxieties as they travel.” ■ Kehaulani Cerizo can be reached at kcerizo@mauinews.com.