The Kauai County requirement that tourists be tested a second time for COVID-19 before they can roam the Garden Island would be anticipated under a bill tentatively approved Tuesday by two House committees.
House Bill 1286 was introduced by House Speaker Scott Saiki and is supported by hoteliers and other tourism industry players. They say Hawaii‘s patchwork of testing and quarantine logs is confusing for would-be tourists and is deterring people from coming here.
However, critics of Saiki’s bill said forcing Kauai to relax the additional testing requirements is a terrible idea at a time when the state is under threat from new variants of the coronavirus. Nearly 150 Kauai residents and others presented testimony against the measure.
Lee Evslin, a retired doctor and former CEO of Wilcox Medical Center, said he was particularly concerned about last week’s pandemic news.
“Experts across the country and around the world say, ‘Don’t relax now. The variants are out there, ‘”he said.
“If we enforce this type of full Safe Travels compliance in each of the counties, we will certainly put the counties at greater risk,” Evslin said. “What the experts are essentially saying is that we are either in the eye of the storm or really in recovery mode and we don’t yet know whether we are or not.”
According to a protocol proposed by the county and authorized by Governor David Ige, Kauai now requires visitors to test negative for coronavirus before arriving on the island and then quarantine in a “resort bubble” for 72 hours before engaging in one second undergo examination.
The island had far fewer infections than the more populated islands of Maui, Oahu, and Hawaii during the pandemic, and Kauai residents want it to stay that way.
Kauai County Councilor Felicia Cowden pointed out that Kauai has some of the lowest infection rates in the country and said the state should set minimum testing and quarantine requirements rather than maximum levels.
“Kauai’s COVID-19 safety levels are the envy of the world, and it attracts more cautious and long-term guests, even new residents,” she said in a written statement. She added that “we are unable to handle the potential impact of a surge in cases”.
“I humbly ask you not to disempower the circles,” she told House Committee members.
In a speech to his colleagues on February 2, Saiki made it clear that he sees a unified, nationwide policy as important for revitalizing the local economy.
“Hawaii’s economy is service-oriented and consists mostly of small businesses and restaurants. We must gradually and safely reopen travel. Even if that means using a nationwide travel policy that is predictable and functional, ”he said.
Nearly 100 people have testified in support of Saiki’s law, including hotels, tour operators, vacation rentals, and the Airlines for America trading group.
Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who is now president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, said a poll by the Hawaii Tourism Authority found that tourists were the most likely to turn down visits to the state because “the testing requirements were inadequate.”
Hannemann said in his written comments: “While we recognize the importance of the ‘Home Rule’ and allow county mayors to decide what is best for their communities, the lack of coherence in rules for travelers and returning residents to Hawaii has become more significant Confusion led to even more harm to an industry already suffering from an unprecedented economic downturn. “
Others, including Luke Meyers, administrator for the state-owned Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, suggested the bill may not be required. Meyers said that “the various counties already have a clear sense of how they want to deal with quarantines and test requirements for travelers”.
The legislature asked the acting state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Kemble on the merits of a testing protocol like the Kauai System, and Kemble pointed out the obvious – that a single test before arriving in Hawaii can’t prevent people from arriving with the virus.
Adding post-travel testing improves the authorities’ ability to identify people with COVID-19 and “an optimal system would include a post-travel test not performed at the time of arrival but a few days after arrival” she said called.
“From a DOH perspective of what would make the most sense for public health, additional post-travel testing would be more effective before people are released from quarantine, but I understand the challenges, feasibility and policy considerations,” said called them.
Both the House Working and Tourism Committee and the Pandemic and Disaster Risk Reduction Committee have tentatively approved the move, which is now being sent to the House of Representatives’ Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committees for further consideration.
The only vote against the measure came from Maui Rep. Tina Wildberger, whom she described as an example of the “handover of the state of Oahu”. She said the counties should be able to retain their autonomy, noting that hotel occupancy in Kauai is only marginally lower than in the rest of the state.
“Just because we’re trying to get consistent rules doesn’t mean sensible people have to get on planes and fly here and magically rebound our economy,” she said.
