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More than 8,200 trans-Pacific travelers arrived in our islands Wednesday, over 5,300 of them either here for pleasure or to return home.

It’s a far cry from the 30,000 arrivals per day before the coronavirus shut down Hawaii and its visitor industry in March. But it is also a strong indicator that we remain a desirable destination in spite of the pandemic.

With the highest unemployment in the nation, many local businesses already shuttered or on the edge of closure and local governments saddled with enormous tax revenue losses, Hawaii could sure use the business that these vacationers are offering.

But, because the Ige administration continues to present an inconsistent position on testing trans-Pacific and interisland travel, there remains a lot of confusion that is deterring some travelers.

The uncertainty has led to several thousand travel cancellations, especially since Gov. David Ige abruptly changed his own policy by forcing all trans-Pacific arrivals who do not land with proof of a negative COVID test to quarantine a full 14 days or for the length of their stay — even if a negative test eventually is confirmed.

The governor further muddled his message on testing by approving Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami’s request to indefinitely opt out of the statewide Safe Travels program.

A lot of this bewilderment — is Hawaii open for business, or isn’t it? — could be alleviated by revising Safe Travels to give airline passengers 96 hours to get a test result before departing for Hawaii. The current requirement is 72 hours, which is often not sufficient time to get the necessary documentation.

The four counties also should establish rapid antigen testing capabilities for those same passengers once they arrive. Arrivals who do not have a negative test in hand can then quarantine until either the PCR determines they are in the clear — likely in just three to six hours — or until the mainland test shows a negative result.

The two-test proposal is being promoted by Lt. Gov. Josh Green, a medical doctor who was the driving force behind Safe Travels. Its popularity is underscored by the fact that Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell — a political rival of Green’s — has expressed support for a similar plan and suggested other modifications.

Contact Key Lawmakers

Gov. David Ige
gov.hawaii.gov
808-586-0034

The same goes for the state House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness, which is composed of top government, economic, business and medical experts.

The committee produced that concluded, after examining the available data, “By any measure, the first month of Hawaii’s Safe Travel pre-arrival testing program was an unqualified success.”

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases has remained “roughly the same” statewide while Hawaii has welcomed more than 270,000 arrivals. Data from the state Department of Health show that community spread is continuing to drive a majority of infections, rather than travel.

But Ige’s latest actions have upset many. We respect that home rule gives each county a significant degree of self-determination. But our economy involves and impacts all of us, and it’s worth pointing out that recent news reports show that the Garden Island in particular from job and revenue losses.

Further adjustments to Safe Travels will be necessary, especially as a vaccine becomes available in the weeks and months ahead. Travelers who have been vaccinated or who have already had the coronavirus and recovered, for example, will need to be factored into the arrival system.

The state’s No. 1 economic driver is on the mend, and we need to help it recover — safely and responsibly — even as policy directives and virus caseloads continue to evolve rapidly at the national level and from state to state.