Hawaii plans to move forward with a plan to reopen to tourists on October 15, Gov. David Ige said Wednesday, ending days of uncertainty over the governor’s plan amid a storm of objections from mayors of the neighboring island and the Honolulu City Council, which represents Waikiki.
The announcement contained more details than Lt. gov. Josh Green outlined last week; However, the broad outline of the program has remained the same: International passengers entering Hawaii, tourists and returning residents alike can skip the state’s 14-day quarantine by presenting a negative test result from a COVID-19 test taken within a few days en route to hawaii.
The governor also said the state will receive 420,000 rapid antigen tests to be used in health care facilities and schools.
“This is the largest single effort since the pandemic began to reopen our economy,” Ige said at a news conference at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
Under intense political pressure from leaders of neighboring islands on the one hand and business leaders on the other, Ige used the availability of the press to bring together the officials responsible for overseeing his government’s response to the pandemic.
Alongside Green, who is serving as Ige’s COVID-19 liaison, Ige was assisted by Maj. Gen. Kenneth H. Hara, director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; dr Libby Char, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, and John DeFries, president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Both Char and DeFries are new hires and are taking up their positions at a time of unprecedented challenges for their agencies.
Char explained that Hawaii will receive 420,000 rapid antigen tests — a simple nasal swab that gives results in 15 minutes — for use before the end of the year. She said emergency staff for testing and then schools would be a top priority to help reopen safely. About 27,000 tests would be available per week, she said.
Perhaps the most interesting new detail came from Green, who offered more information on a previously discussed proposal to conduct a second test on a random number of travelers.
Green said the state will implement a surveillance testing program that will test 10% of arriving passengers four days later.
The mayors of neighboring islands have called for something far more restrictive. The mayors — Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami, Maui Mayor Michael Victorino, and Big Island Mayor Harry Kim — have announced that passengers will need to get a second negative test result to get out of quarantine. Honolulu City Councilman Tommy Waters has called for a similar system, and on Wednesday the Honolulu City Council unanimously passed a Waters-sponsored resolution urging the state to adopt a two-test system.
Ige said no mayors of neighboring islands have opted out, but Kim said Tuesday he will maintain the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers to the Big Island because only one test is required.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is the island’s only mayor to openly support the one-test plan, though Caldwell has said he’d like to see a second test as capacity to test travelers increases.
So, for now, Hawaii’s plan requires travelers who want to legally skip the 14-day quarantine to get a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of leaving for the islands. The test must be an FDA-cleared nucleic acid amplification test from a certified laboratory and is accepted as proof that a tourist or returning resident is safe enough to skip Hawaii’s 14-day quarantine for inbound passengers.
According to the FDA, the NAAT tests detect whether there is genetic material of the virus in a sample taken from the patient’s nose or throat. These tests are considered more sensitive than antigen tests, which show whether the person has an active infection, and antibody tests, which show whether the person has had the virus in the past.
Green also announced an expanded list of “trusted partners” with the state. AFC Urgent Care, Carbon Health, CityHealth Urgent Care, Color, CVS Health, Kaiser Permanente, Quest Diagnostics, Vault Health and Walgreens are all providing the testing, he said.
One question is how many people carrying the virus will test negative. Char said studies show the planned test will catch between 20% and 80% of cases. To get a better clue, Green has suggested screening 10% of passengers with an optional second test that the state would offer free of charge.
Many details have yet to be worked out, including how exactly the tests would be paid for. But Green said the second test would be worth the cost.
“None of this comes for free,” he said, “but the benefit of knowing we’re safe is significant.”
The governor’s press conference followed a morning interview Green held with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as the country’s leading epidemiologist as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci praised Hawaii’s handling of the virus and said the state’s climate gives it an advantage over states where cold weather will soon drive people indoors. Fauci reiterated the message that the best way to prevent the virus from spreading in Hawaii is for people to wear masks, practice social distancing by staying six feet apart and avoid gatherings, especially those that are indoors take place.
Outdoor activities, such as going to the beach, are safer than staying indoors, Fauci said. But he warned that people should not congregate closely outdoors.
Fauci supported Green’s idea of doing a second surveillance test on a sample of people, as well as the idea of a second test using less sensitive rapid antigen tests that could provide results quickly.
In the end, Fauci emphasized, no test regime is perfect. More important is whether Hawaii has additional systems and a cautious public that limit the spread of visitors or returning residents who bring the virus into the state.
“I can’t give you a definitive answer because let me say something that reflects reality: The reality is, no matter what you do, there will be infected people slipping through the cracks,” he said. “It’s inevitable. It will happen.”
“The key issue,” he added, “is that since you have such a low level of infection right now, you should be able to deal with that and prevent this from showing up.”
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