The Governor of Hawaii has been extraordinarily cautious when it comes to coronavirus. Even though the state relies very heavily on tourism, Governor Ige has yet to open it back up to travelers from the mainland and beyond. He thinks it’s just too risky.
Hawaii almost had a nearby reopening date and a plan to go with it. But they canceled it a few weeks after the announcement, to allow for even more planning. Had it gone through, people flying to Hawaii could just get a COVID test beforehand and not have to worry about quarantine. But for now, mandatory quarantine upon arrival continues.
Unfortunately, some people think that quarantine rules don’t apply to them. In fact, the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center (JIC) says that 182 people have been arrested on O’ahu, Kaua’i, Maui and Hawai’i Island for violating the state’s quarantine rules.
In response, the state has a team of 80 workers from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau, Hawai‘i County Civil Defense and the Maui Police Department. JIC says they call quarantined visitors from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, including weekends and holidays.
“They have contacted well over 27,000 travelers and have made more than 113,000 phone calls, texts and emails since the quarantine order went into effect at the end of March,” JIC said in a statement.
Those who are quarantined are contacted several times during their 2 weeks of quarantine and if need be, the JIC will send a search party out and, essentially, hunt them down. Case in point, the cult that believed in nudism, polygamy and being smelly that broke their quarantine on the Big Island? They were found and arrested in mid-June, and put on a plane to Los Angeles a few days later. If quarantine breakers are in Honolulu, officers from the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) have the discretion to warn, cite, or arrest based on available facts and circumstances.
Sometimes the police don’t even have to do much, as there are some hotels in Hawaii who have taken measures into their own hands.
Hawaii is now currently scheduled to reopen on September 1 at the earliest. Once it does, quarantine should not be an issue, save for those who refuse to be tested before arriving on the island.
H/T: KITV
PC: PublicDomainPictures.net/Linnaea Mallette
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands #wearamask
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
Given that around 200 people have violated quarantine, would a pre-arrival negative COVID be better than this?
Of course it’s not foolproof but people who violate quarantine with an unknown COVID status is just as risky of not more so.