The state of Hawaii apparently isn’t done with Safe Travels, even as the sun has set on the program. The program that cost the state an estimated $37 million, plus at least $27 million more for cameras that weren’t technically included. Safe Travels was mothballed last month when Hawaii no longer required proof of Covid vaccination or testing. Some legislators question whether the cost estimate is accurate and have suggested it was nearly double that.
Hawaii Adjutant General Kenneth S. Hara estimated the cost for Safe Travels. He was the incident commander of Hawaii’s Covid response. While originally planned to cost $1 M per month, costs escalated to more than $3 M per month, before Safe Travels’ demise. Hara said, “I think it was a huge success… Hawaii had the lowest death rate and the second lowest infection rate.”
What were the Safe Travels components and where did the money go?
The Safe Travels program consisted of both a web portal as well as expensive thermal/face-recognition cameras installed at all of Hawaii’s airports to detect ill passengers. Hawaii’s HTA said that the Safe Travels website could be used to provide educational information to visitors as well as any emergency notifications. It could also be repurposed for use in completing state agriculture forms, making reservations for Hawaii public venues, and even for booking third party activities.
The escalation in costs was largely associated with the increase in travelers. While initially there were 80 screeners, Hara said it went to more than 500 subsequently. Costs were associated with components including the digital platform, airport screening, digital screening devices, PPE, private screening companies, testing, and ambulance services, call centers, and ongoing improvements.
Thermal scanning and face recognition to be retained in Hawaii airports.
State Senator Glenn Wakai said it was “a ridicululous idea” when asked about the removal of the already implemented airport cameras and thermal screening.
Could Safe Travels be repurposed for national use?
Hawaii’s Governor Ige is inventive and thinks that Safe Travels should be promoted to national use in some way. He said, “they should establish some process for health emergencies,” in speaking about its use across the country.
American Rescue Plan money was used.
Safe Travels as well as the facial recognition and thermal screen equipment were paid through federal dollars associated with the American Rescue Plan Act. What isn’t clear is exactly how much of that federal money was used or may still be left that could avoid spending state money that comes from taxes.
Only 1% of Hawaii Covid cases were mainland travelers.
The state has reported that just 4% of total Covid cases were travel-related, while just 1% of the cases were associated with out-of-state travelers. The great majority of cases were community spread.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Complete waste of money. Democrats love to spend other people’s money especially on feel good programs that employ pretty much unemployable people. Hawaii should have realized what leading Epidemiologists we’re saying almost two years ago about learning to live with COVID instead of instrusive and draconian measures that imposed psychological implications on it’s population that will likely take years to recover from.
I remain grateful that the state prioritized our health, and locked down, and controlled community spread in the early days when we had the chance to. I also thank my neighbors for masking up. We have only one hospital on Maui an a high number of Kupuna per capita. If Covid had been allowed to spread unchecked, as it was in Florida, we would have lost much more than jobs. It was unpopular with a lot of people, but I believe you can’t have a healthy economy without a health population.
“According to its final Report Card on the States Responses to Covid-19”, “on the failing side, the five worst jurisdictions were NJ, D.C., NY, NM and California”, all with Lock-downs, a Mandates and deadly results for their citizens. “The 5 States with the best outcomes are Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana and Florida”. The Report measured Health outcomes, Economic performance and Education.
sad thing is they could have used all of that money to help house native hawaiian…seems like all governments and states wasted a lot of tax dollars on this scary virus garbage. that money our tax dollars could have been used for better things …real infrastructure …
Mahalo
If Hawaii had kept the monitors then what would State Senator Wakai propose to do when someone arrives with a fever, especially when it may not be COVID. .. Would any of these be possibilities, quarantine, or refuse admittance, or deport foreign travelers ?
Go to China and find out.
Aloha and Mahalo for bringing this to our attention. This explains a lot.
The state has reported that just 4% of total Covid cases were travel-related, while just 1% of the cases were associated with out-of-state travelers. The great majority of cases were community spread.
Meaning the Hawaii State and Federal Governments spent taxpayer funds like drunken sailor (apologies to all sailors).
Hahaha… what a joke
I’m sure the total cost of that boondoggle was more like $100,000,000… certainly many times that when you factor in the lost revenue from hundreds of thousands–if not millions–of completely healthy travelers that did not come to Hawaii due to the Kafkaesque requirements that more than likely had little to no net effect on the COVID spread in Hawaii. But, I guess we’ll never know what the net effect would have been had Hawaii just done what every other state did–common sense masking, etc.
“common sense masking”
One of these words does not go with the other two
Only 1% were Hawaii residents? I guess it worked!
bc
Aloha Ribert. You read that statistic incorrectly. Please try again. Mahalo.
You read it wrong, it’s the residents that went out of State, came back, said they’d quarantine then didn’t, community spread! That 9th state! Viva Lost Wages
Covid percentage pretty much what we expected. 1% from out of state, not quite worth spending $64million on for safe travels. However, it fits the Governor’s narrative of keeping everyone afraid and living in fear and cost so many jobs. Amazing!!!! What a shame!! This is the 1st time I’ve said this.
Safe Travels and it’s infrastructure (including facial recognition technology was an effective and helpful idea. Perpetuating the technology makes sense. However perpetuating the bureaucracy supporting it has the danger of perpetuating a cure for which there is no longer a disease. This idea is no surprise for we should know by now that government regardless of party tends to perpetuate bureaucracy long after it has served its purpose. Jim E
Aloha Jim E! Facial recognition technology
Let that sink in
Aloha
The last paragraph in this post says it all.
Aloha, BOH!
So much for keeping all us “virus-infected” mainland travelers out of the islands, as suspected all along it was mainly the non vaccinated locals. Waiting for the next study to come out that shows that it isn’t all the mainlanders who are destroying the beaches/reefs etc. Like our money now (rhetorical)?
Sadly nothing in this report was a surprise to me. Safe travels was a farce in my opinion and a waste of tax dollars. This is coming from a resident and not a tourist. A teenager can spend money more wisely than our government.
Governor Ige never saw a ‘Hand-out’ he didn’t like! This, the same guy that broke the State’s Unemployment Compensation upside down over $500M while collecting the Federal Funds for additional compensation as people sat home. Now, the Service Industries of which Hawaii depends cannot get staffing as Employee’s are not coming back to work and Hotels at exorbitant prices provide less Service. This, while tertiary Retail & Dining that was Tourist driven is hamstrung for the same reason!
How in the world can the state say that covid cases were only 1 % were associated with out of state travellers. When will the lies stop. Kauai closed down essentialy due to the 2 week quarantine. We had under 100 cases that year. As soon as kauai opened up to tourists flying here the cases soared. I am completely disgusted.
I bet you never left Kauai. I’ve live here over 30 years and left 15 times during the pandemic. All over the U.S. and to several countries. Never got Covid, but then again, I take care of my body and eat well and exercise every day. Koolaid anyone?
I’m a BI resident. Safe travels was very effective in the beginning. Cases skyrocketed when travelers were able to stop testing with “proof of vaccination”. There were documented cases of forged vaccine cards (some caught at airport, others identified after return to mainland,) and we all know the virus did not originate here! Vaccines do prevent serious disease, but not infection/spread of variants, so in 20/20 hindsight it now appears that ‘not testing vaccinated arrivals’ was unwise.
The problem, Cee, is that the Progressive narrative to which Hawaii sticks stated unequivocally – at least until Omnicrom force-injected reality – that “vaccinated” people did not spread the virus.
FWIW, the fact that Hawaii allowed travelers with shots to skip the “trusted partner” testing PITA, probably incentivized a lot of people to get the shots who may not have otherwise done so. This was definitely the case in our household.
Aloha Joan L,
Nothing to see here. Just keep watching your TV.
Mahalo
Confirm please what you mean Safe Travels isn’t dead yet? Is it going to be re-instated in the near future? Thank you BOH
Hi Maur.
There’s nothing more to add to what we just reported.
Aloha.
How do i stop the responses being sent to me???
Aloha Joan L,
You cannot. You have entered the Twilight Zone and there is no return. Please create an account and a password and navigate to the self help tab and follow the drop-down menu for further instructions. You’ll figure it out in time.
Sweet dreams!
National use for the supposedly Safe Travels Program!? And who didn’t see that possibility coming?