Turbulent times As Questions Remain.
131 thoughts on “Testing Approved As Hawaii Visitors Demand Essential Information”
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Turbulent times As Questions Remain.
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They’re just about to start trials in the UK of 20 min swab tests. That’s the sort of time frame where they could introduce a procedure at the departing airport prior to say clearing security to check whether you were currently clear of the disease. Therefore you could be confident that you won’t catch it while flying and it would give some degree of confidence to the islands that they weren’t importing cases.
I like the sound of this. I want a vacation but I equally don’t want to get sick. So something which balanced the two desires would be useful prior to a vac cine being available.
Thanks for the update. It helps in these times to know how everyone else is dealing with this so we can share ideas to make things better.
Hi Fran.
Thank you.
Aloha.
Aloha Guys!
I’m also planing on coming in June. Although the 14 day quar antine would be a hassle, I usually stay for 3-5 weeks, and having my own place would not be as bad as being forced to stay in a hotel room.
I think my biggest issue is that they really haven’t addressed how it works for those of us who own property. How would we get food for the 14 days, if we are forced in to immediate quar intine? Do we have to depend on our neighbors, who may or may not want to help? What if nobody helps, because of their own fear? Are there any resources to help someone, in case they are not able to get food and supplies for the quar intine period, should it be extended into June?
Personally, I don’t think it’s right, nor do I want to be forced to take a test. However, I need to get back and take care of my property, which I have always done every 3-6 months. I plan on taking the Antibody test, because I may have been exposed in February, when I last traveled through three different islands on my way back from Hawaii.
I surely wouldn’t be happy, if I was forced to take a test at the airport, and not allowed to board a plane, knowing that the testing isn’t 100% accurate, and can give false positives at this point. Who would want that?
I don’t think forcing people to test is even acceptable, as it adds to the further progression of stripping more individual rights. If you don’t have a fever, are social distancing, and wearing a mask on flights, that should be sufficient.
The further time goes along, the more data is revealing that this is an issue for a significantly small percentage of the population, and protecting those over 65 should be the main focus.
We have never isolated the entire population before. In my opinion, we should be isolatimg the sick and the most vulnerable, and working toward getting back to normal.
Hawaii’s economy isn’t going to sustain much more than another month or so, before it reaches the point of no return. My biggest fear is not the disease itself. It’s the further economic catastrophe and deaths from the repercussions of the decisions made to handle this “crisis”. It’s already being investigated that this was potentially a manufactured crisis, and that is even scarier, if true.
Mahalo, and if you come across information for part time residents like the ones I posed, rhat would be great!
Hi Chuck.
At present, it is not possible to stop at a grocery store or anywhere else. You will have to get food delivered to you by some means. There should be more clarification on the future of all this soon.
Aloha.
Unacceptable
Well as a resident of the big island I can’t imagine why someone would want to travel here on vacation during this. Not for reasons of safety but consider the following:
1) you have to wear a mask on the flight – for 6 hrs! That alone would cause me to cancel my vacation.
2) absolutely nothing is open for business in terms of tourist attractions- no whale watching, national parks, surf and body board rentals, no kayak rentals, no tours of any kind.
3) No restaurants open except takeout which means no memorable dining experiences.
Sure you can go grocery shopping, and get Starbucks, and grab food off a food truck. But there is more to Hawaii than that.
I have lots of information on that topic. Wish we could “talk” Currently in that quarantine!
You can do online ordering and home delivery from Safeway on O’ahu. Other islands, I don’t know but you can check online.* We had this all worked out for Honolulu but then decided it wasn’t worth the 2 weeks indoors.
*Here’s what Beat of Hawai’i said last year (July 2019): “A leading same-day delivery service from the mainland [Shipt] has just expanded its Hawaii grocery delivery, bringing it to Kauai for the very first time, and increasing same day service in Honolulu and on Maui. The company claims groceries can be delivered to your door in as little as one hour. “
We, unfortunately, postponed our late May trip to Kauai. I was already counting down the days. We are guests in the Islands and we are willing to forego/postpone our vacation for the safety of those calling the Islands home. Though I must say, I’d much rather be quarantined for 14 days on Kauai as opposed to home!!
Be safe and we look forward to contributing to your local economy soon.
We also have a reservation to Alaska on June 5, and the agent told me you can cancel up to 48 hours prior to your flight leaving (by May 31) and get a future flight credit. I hope that helps you!
Then don’t go
Are you Hawaii resident? Currently employed? Did you forget how most of the jobs in the state are generated? Don’t go. Great solution.
The other thing to consider is what is your Hawaiian experience going to be…? Will you be able to go out on a catamaran for a sunset sail?
I got an email last week from my Wyndham timeshare saying that certain amenities are likely to be closed at least for awhile like swimming pools, activity centers, business center, spas…. You might want to call your hotels to ask about their new policys regarding this. The new Hawaiian experience might be quite different from what we are used to. Just speculating…
Hawaii would need to test all of its residents before demanding it of tourists. Otherwise they won’t know how a potential out break started. Vaccination or antibody titers in the future would not be out of the question. That’s what they would have my cats do!
My answer for Pam regarding when or if the airline might cancel their flights. We Were scheduled to depart for Kauai 5/20/20. On 4/9/20 we got an email from American saying our flight info had changed. We always fly thru Phoenix coming and going from Kaua’i, so our flight to Phoenix on 5/20 changed to a later departure time and our flight from Phoenix to Kauai was canceled!. However at that time they left our return flights (on 6/10) intact! We called American and after talking to the agent we canceled all flights. We filed online and got a full refund. Hope this helps.
Aloha
Open Hawaii
There are very low numbers of cases and no deaths on some of the islands, at least open the big island.
The Big Island just had 5 New cases today via the County’s update.
We were planning a family trip to Kona June 16th for 11 days. Had flights, condos, rental car and snorkel charter etc.
We have decided to cancel. The condo let us rebook for next year. No fees or charges. We were flying Alaska all 11 of us and they refunded our son as he is in the military and isn’t allowed to travel till the end of June. The rest of us received our refund as future travel which we plan on doing. Again no issues and fees. The same has been with all the other companies. Even if they do open it in June it won’t be the same so we decided it was better to push it out for year. I rather go back to Hawaii when there isn’t health crisis going on.
Such a difficult time for the people of Hawaii, so much uncertainty and isolation. My prayers are with the Hawaiian people and their leaders. Hope to visit in December and help lift tourism again.
Well said – I can’t imagine how difficult life in Hawaii must be at the moment. I love and miss Hawaii, and especially Kauai. I can’t wait to return when the time is right for Hawaii.
How is it a more “difficult time” for “the people of Hawaii” than it is for “the people” of everywhere else? People that live in Hawaii are not a unique and special race. It’s a mixed bag here like it is pretty much everywhere else in the US–and most places in the world. 25% of the state population is white. 2% black. 38% is Asian. With only about 10% being specifically “native Hawaiian / Pacific islander”. (The rest is mixed race.)
And the problem here in Hawaii is not the vi rus itself… it’s the FEAR of the vi rus–and the knee-jerk over-reactions and poor decisions that have been made here (and many other places) out of that fear. On the big island we have around 220k people–and a total of +/-70 cases from day one–zero deaths–and all but about 2 have recovered / been cleared. And yet, here we still are–completely shut down. For no good reason… other than FEAR.
Guess what? It’s not 1720. or 1820. or 1920. It’s 2020. We have SCIENCE. We have MATH. We have DATA. We have no business and no excuse for acting out of fear instead of FACTS. Oahu is not “Hawaii”. It is simply one part of the state–and not even a very big one. And yet–even before this –ALL decisions affecting ALL of the islands have been made and mandated out of Oahu / Honolulu. This needs to stop. We’re not stupid enough to build 10 billion dollar rail lines on big island. We shouldn’t have to pay for that. And we did not have 700 cases of this here… so we shouldn’t be inflicted with the same policies and procedures that Oahu is. Why kill ALL of the economies on ALL of the islands just because of a fairly minor (15 deaths) health issue on ONE of the islands.
Oh, and re: Maui–I seem to recall that they were the MOST vocal about sending the tourists home and banning new tourists from arriving–so, hey, if they’re economy is the most negatively affected–they have no one to blame but themselves.
So it’s not OK to empathize with the entire state, just parts of it? No one is claiming that Hawai’i is unique (although in fact is it, obviously). As for facts and science and numbers: the fact is that if masses of people come pouring in a significant percentage of them will be carriers and they in turn will infect a significant number of people. As long as there is mass travel, anything like this will spread quickly. The rapid spread of diseases by white “discoverers” in the Pacific and the Americas was early evidence of that. You’re right, it’s not 1720 or 1820 or 1920. More people travel now, and to more places. So now something that started in an inland area in China has covered the world in a matter of weeks. As for fear: people aren’t afraid but they’re not stupid, either. Fact is that according to the most recent surveys, even if all restrictions were lifted all over the US tomorrow, most people still wouldn’t feel comfortable about going to crowded places or sitting on full airplanes. This is a serious disease that has already killed at least 94,000 Americans and is still taking people out at well over 1,000 per day. Many of us don’t want to play with poisonous snakes, don’t want to surf with great white sharks, and don’t want to chance a really serious illness (survivors can be left with lifetime problems of lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, GI tract, and brain).
If the Big Island opens up and no one else does, people will pour into the Big Island. Then your low numbers will disappear in a hurry.
*Typo: it has killed over 94,000 Americans. (Request: add an “edit” button?)
Hi Dave.
Fixed. Good suggestion. We’ll check into it.
Aloha.