Hawaii delays reopening until September 1 due to COVID surges

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Eric L. Martin | Chubby Diaries

On Monday July 13, David Ige announced a delay in reopening tourism in Hawaii until September 1.

Due to ongoing outbreaks in the mainland, Gov. Ige advised that the launch of the traveler pre-testing program–that was set to begin on August 1, will be pushed to September. The gov. said that the outbreaks in several states are “not in control and we don’t believe the situation will change significantly.”

The pre-testing program included a 14-day quarantine period for incoming travelers that had already devastated the tourism industry especially in Hawaii. The governor did recognize that the delay will hit businesses who rely on tourism during the Summer months.

“This was not an easy decision to make. It really was a choice between two difficult options,” said Gov. Ige.
The amount of coronavirus cases and deaths are significantly lower (1,243 cases, 22 deaths) than many other popular destination spots in the US mainland.

Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO Chris Tatum said Monday that the industry wants to “welcome back our visitors once our state is ready to do so in a safe manner that will hopefully avoid the need to backtrack in the future.”

Eric L. Martin Chubby Diaries Travel Analyst. He writes on the latest Travel News and much more.