Look at Hanalei Bay pictured above, both beautiful and iconic with its views and a long stretch of sand. Kauai Mayor Kawakami is thinking you’ll quarantine 72 hours on arrival, before a mandatory second test, just to be here. Would you spend half your vacation in quarantine or go somewhere else? This comes on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that two more Kauai visitors tested positive after testing negative before their flights.
Kauai’s mayor is proposing divergent COVID rules than the rest of the state of Hawaii. Yet, Governor Ige has been clear that no such rules can be implemented without his specific approval. The last time Mayor Kawakami asked the governor for a mandatory quarantine, Governor Ige said no.
But here are some facts. Kauai has 9 ICU beds. And since reopening Hawaii on October 15, cases have grown on the island. As of yesterday, there were 14 active cases on Kauai, with 9 recovering at home, 3 in facilities, and 2 hospitalized.
In addition to a mandatory 72-hour quarantine for all arrivals, the Mayor is also asking to require travelers to upload a negative test result to the Safe Travels website before flying to Kauai, rather than on arrival. Otherwise, they face a 14-day quarantine.
“This virus requires measures of intervention and in our opinion, it’s clear that the one test 72 hours prior is not enough intervention, so we are trying to remain in tier 4 and keep this island safe and not overrun our healthcare systems on Kauai.” (Mayor Derek Kawakami)
Issues associated with a 72-hour quarantine?
The average duration of a Hawaii vacation is 7 days. Some are even shorter. Visitors will simply not come if they face the possibility of quarantine for half of their vacation.
Vacation rentals are locked out, in the sense that at this point, visitors who are in quarantine cannot stay in vacation rentals, only hotels. Also, many vacation rentals have a minimum number of nights required.
Will Ige agree with Kawakami this time?
We do not think it is likely. The Governor says the state’s trying to close loopholes in its pre-travel testing program and is reluctant to support more restrictions. So far, Ige doesn’t feel a second test three days after arrival is feasible, but is open to other ideas.
Possibly telltale, there was an interesting aspect of Monday’s gubernatorial proclamation which came subsequent to Kawakami’s request. It states, “I direct all counties to obtain my approval or the approval of the Director of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA), prior to issuing any emergency order, rule, or proclamation.”
Kauai purchased 15,000 rapid test kits.
As you recall, Kauai obtained 15,000 rapid test kits several months ago, when it originally envisioned a mandatory quarantine. The state did not provide approval at that time, but we suspect Ige “might” approve some use of those tests now. Could they be required after some number of days? We don’t know. But, currently, only 2% of Kauai visitors have opted to take the voluntary second test, so that obviously isn’t working.
Canada trials example of new quarantine exemption.
Unrelated, Canada is trialing a way for some arrivals to avoid 14-day quarantine. Those who test negative on arrival, and who then agree to a subsequent test, in their case on day 6 or 7, are not required to be in quarantine. Participants in the pilot program are monitored with daily symptom checks and are required to follow other safety measures.
If that were to work here similarly to Canada, arrivals who agree to a second test several days after arrival could avoid quarantine. That together with contact tracing may present the best possible scenario.
Your thoughts?
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Stephen G. says
I give credit to Kawakami. He is protecting the people of Kauai. An island that seems to put all differences aside to come together when needed. I have not heard anything but praise for Kawakami from Kauai. The people know that even though the virus is responsible for the death,sickness, economy, education etc. it will certainly not be disgruntled tourists that cause any sorrow for Kauai. Honestly most of the island would rather see the tourists go somewhere else but that does not stop them from sharing aloha. Let Kawakami protect his people, it’s his job.
Chris W says
Landed on Kauai Monday 16th, tested negative with approved site pretravel. Self quarantine in hotel 3 days. Then taking second voluntary test for a variety of reasons. Safety of family living on Kauai, airport/air travel, respect for the locals, etc. Anything ive ordered or needed has been dropped off outside of my door, no biggie.
Ive tested, and will test again voluntarily, wear my mask, social distance, quarantined, etc.
Only push back I’ve received are from people who say I shouldn’t travel, same ones that say follow the science, go figure.
If you follow the guidelines in place, don’t see why its a problem.
Rob H says
I live in San Diego and people do come here all the time. I would rather they do not come here to vacation right now, but this is America, they are my fellow Americans and that is their right to travel within this country.
Rob H says
Well put my friend. This is another state in America, not its own sovereign nation. We are all Americans and need to treat one another with the mutual respect.
Kathy B. says
A vacation to any of the Hawaiian islands is incredibly expensive. Airfare, hotels, rental cars, food & beverage and now an additional excessive amount for Covid tests. No matter how long our trip is (7 days or 10 days or 14 days) I absolutely will not allow my family to pay to quarantine on the island of Kauai. The condo we rent is $400 a night … why in the world would I spend well over $1200 (3 days of quarantine) to hide away indoors and watch tv all day while on vacation. Ridiculous. Will gladly take my money elsewhere if this restriction plays out.
KA says
Kathy,you must think of more than yourself and the cost. These are unprecedented times. The kamaaina deserve to be protected and while the economy relies on tourism they can’t risk their lives by being exposed by those visiting the island. I lived on Kauai for many years and respect that it is a very special place. We must put the community there first, before our own desire to be in paradise. Kauai has very limited medical facilities, limited doctors and we just can’t put them at risk. This is a very unpredictable and deadly virus.
Stephen G. says
Thank you for your honesty, you are exactly the type of tourist that Mayor Kawakami is protecting the wonderful people of Kauai from.
Don R. says
I have been to Hawaii several times and enjoyed myself without any reservation. In the past few months I have noticed so many negative comments by the people of Hawaii that I have cancelled my vacation this year and future years. Undoubtedly there are many excuses for their attitude toward the mainlanders but we must remember that we are all Americans and need to treat each other as such. Therefore I will vacation on the mainland and Mexico where people appreciate me and treat me as an equal 619 San Diego’s Thank you
K. Y. says
I agree with you. I will not vacation in Hawaii anytime soon I will take my hard earned money somewhere else lol
John c says
We will cancel our trip if we are put into any sort of quarantine,if we have the required negative test results .
KA says
John,a negative test result is only a snapshot in time. You can test negative after being exposed to the virus and a day or two later become symptomatic and test positive. The challenge with covid is that it takes 2-14 days to become symptomatic and/or test positive after exposure. Also..you are contagious 2 days before symptoms begin. Since I help directly with the public health effort, I have learned that most flights will have multiple infectious passengers on board. A second test makes sense, and without such measures quarantine will protect a vulnerable community like Kauai.
Karolin y says
I think the only solution to this is don’t travel to Hawaii.
Lynde C says
I just watched the lt governors weekly presentation. I try to watch all presentations to keep up with what is happening. Something I found odd (and I’m not looking for promask/antimask arguments) but Kauai has the lowest positivity rate, residents are worried about any positive numbers coming in (which is understandable) but the Lt Governor just stated that Kauai has the lowest mask wearing precentage of all islands at Around 73/74%? Again, not looking for a debate. Just thought it was interesting if people are worried of transmision and worried about visitors not wearing masks why Kauai residents have the lowest percentage of compliance.
David B says
I speculate that Kauai has low “positivity” rate because there have been, and still are, very few people that had the virus on island. Also, we are outside most of the time, or in houses with a lot of open windows, jalousies. But, that part is also true for the other islands. I am cynical that all the sweaty face diapers do much if anything other than to give people a another source of anger towards each other. No shortage of that these days, including in these comments.
Diane says
Arriving Kaui on Nov 28th. Prior to that have already done 14 days at home. COVID test 72hr prior scheduled, Safe Travel site almost completed.
We have several masks each. I really hope this is just an article about what if. A majority number of tourist hopefully will follow the guidelines.
KA says
Diane, thank you for all the measures you took to be safe and protect Kauai. Please do consider retesting a few days after arrival to ensure you were not exposed on the long flight. I would recommend anyone flying to please wear a KN-95 or multiple layers mask with a filter. It’s pretty much a guarantee that there will be more than one infectious passenger on the plane. I don’t say this to scare anyone, it’s just the reality right now. I do direct public health investigation and contact tracing and many, many cases have flown during their infectious period. Most unknowingly, some while symptomatic sadly.
ErdoganG says
Mr/Ms Ka you seem to know everything-“it is guaranteed that there will be several infectious people on a plane” based on Hawaii’s own statistics roughly one out of 1000 arrivals tests positive after arrival. So the planes you are speaking of must be cruise lines or aircraft carriers to have several positive cases. The planes serving Hawaii typically have about 200 seats so one in every five planes if they are FULL. Also this argument does not line up with airline crews rate of getting Covid. Based on studies by Harvard and DOD scientists risk of getting infected while on the plane are very low. Finally as seen from statistics Kauai has the lowest percentage of mask wearing and most of the COVID cases are either community spread or residents returning. So next time you post get your facts straight.
Crystal says
We traveled to Maui on Nov 8th and returned the 13th. Wore our masks the whole time. Both flights were packed. Now 6 days after returning home still no symptoms or anything. I understand people get lucky. My husband and I were apparently 2 that did. Just keep your immune system up people! And don’t let stress/fear make you 😷
Cindy K says
Visitors should absolutely have to have a negative test result before boarding the plane to any of the Hawaiian Islands. A second test on arrival or shortly thereafter doesn’t seem like too much to ask.
Jeanne F says
Not clear who will enforce the arrival of negative covid tests to Kauai, , airline ticket agents?
David B says
Kauai cannot require anything of people who board planes. Nor can Hawaii. Maybe the Harris administration will impose such thing, but it would likely be for all airline travel anywhere in US. As long as the test was relatively cheap (like the TSA fee?) could be built into tickets. And like TSA, whether anything useful is being accomplished or just keeping up appearances will be a matter of opinion.
Dada M. says
good ideas
Joe P. says
Exactly
Kauaidoug says
Please, we are only trying to protect ourselves so we don’t look like a lot of small communities across the nation. We have 9 ICU beds.
if you come here and get sick you cannot leave!!!!!?!!!?
Think about it. Think about the local person you might be taking a bed from. That person could be me!
This foolhardy program is not working for us.
Jeanne F says
Yes,Kauai has 9 ICU beds,but,per population how does that differ from Honolulu,San Francisco,New York-tourist destinations.
Wear a mask to protect yourself and others from viral load and limit gatherings,Covid will be with us for a long time.Move forward.
Tamara says
They have alot more resources on Oahu. Kauai has over 74k residents and 9 ICU beds. Anything serious usually has to fly to Oahu. So obviously anyone that’s comes and has the virus and goes bad is going to take up one bed while residents who live there and yes they are suffering with no jobs will be put at risk because of someone not willing to sacrifice 3 days waiting on another test. It’s not that much to ask. I go back home to Hawai in 3 weeks. I will get both test and still quarentine for my piece of mind to not put others at risk. 3 days isnt that much to ask.
Jeanne F says
Yes,perhaps Kauai needs to increase its resources and look at where the money is going to State Facilities such as KVMH and Mahelona-I know,I worked in the system for 37 years
Rob H says
Well put my friend. This is another state in America, not its own sovereign nation. We are all Americans and need to treat one another with the mutual respect.
David B says
“We are all Americans and need to treat one another with the mutual respect.”
I’m in my late 50s. It used to be that people of differing political or religious views could still get along. In part, because people would consciously not discuss politics or religion when they are trying to be pleasant and social. You at least tried to find common ground. Maybe sports, or hobbies, or kids, or whatever.
That time has long passed. More and more everyone is “in your face”. And if you don’t share exactly my world view, you are a worthless human being to be ridiculed or canceled or whatever. IMO, is because of the internet. A generation has now been raised on social media. Look at these comments as an example, let alone the cesspool that is Twitter.
Kauaidoug says
Any program relying on the tourist to do something is not, will not work. Ige and Mayor K were warned by many people. Here on Kaua’i we begged the mayor not to go through with this foolhardy plan an now here we are.
Please, all you mainlanders understand We are only trying to protecting ourselves from Covid19 from people who are wanting to vacation. How would you feel if you knew 3 out of a thousand people were coming into your community infected? That may not sound like a lot but 70k people live here and we were virtually free. 9 ICU on our tiny island
If you come here sick you cannot leave!!!!!!!!!!!!
Think about that,Please.
Viv H says
Kauai is a very small special loving paradise. This is a pandemic…it’s not business as usual. Put us on your bucket list…Aloha
Don K says
During the Ohio governor’s twice a week briefing, he had an infectious disease doctor speak and at one point reiterated what the Italian researchers said back in JUNE that the China virus had already mutated into a more virulent but with less health impact form. I expect that so many more people around the world will have contracted the virus before the vaccines are released that eventually this Chinese created viral attack upon the world will be relegated to the seasonal status. But God only knows what their crazy leaders have planned next.
Curtis C. says
I’ve heard a lot about Kauai’s lack of ICU units and ventilators. But this pandemic is going on 10 months now, so the island has had plenty of time to add capacity. What happens when a more serious pandemic comes along, which is probably inevitable? Here in California, numerous temporary locations were set up in case they were needed. Our local college gymnasium was one of those locations. Thankfully it hasn’t been gotten bad enough for that.
Sue R. says
Well, we have reservations for Kauai at a rental condo in two weeks time…I can’t get a refund on our vacation, but am not feeling very welcome at this point. If I wouldn’t lose a significant amount of money, I would cancel. As it is, I will keep mingling to a minimum. We have been practicing safety protocols for many months successfully and will continue to do so.
Joe P. says
I live in Colorado where tourists are bread and butter. If you have a plan in place with requirements it will work. Enforcement is everything! I cancelled a European trip for Hawaii at New Years. I will do anything to follow the rules and be safe but I won’t spend 72 hours of my 6 nights quarantining. I will continue to pray for safety and health for everyone. I really want to enjoy this special place on earth. Hopefully it will happen.
Jared X says
Hi, Curtis. You’re right. Kauai has had plenty of time to prepare for the pandemic–and the return of tourism… they just don’t want to. They’d rather just use the situation as an excuse to shut down tourism–because they really don’t want tourists there to begin with.
David B says
This is accurate for much of the population. A most convenient pandemic, indeed.
Now, just send money and stay away.
Jeanne F says
I understand The Mayor’s concern. I also believe the Safe Travels program is working and will only improve. I am a Kauai resident snd recently retired Kauai ER RN. I believe we can and need to move forward , mitigate covid by wearing masks,limiting gatherings,hygiene.
A person can test positive for Covid and not be ill, it’s about viral load exposure. Masks,limiting gatherings limit viral load exposure. It’s great to see visitors returning,knowing too the barriers they face with travel. Hawaii residents have had this utopia to ourselves,it’s time we all welcome back the visitors, visitors,mitigate.
Tom says
Not go to Kauai because of the a 3-day quarantine? You bet. In fact, just TALK of it (or writing about it) will drive people to book away from the Garden Island. When all the tourism jobs go away, the nine ICU beds will be more than enough as people will have to leave to find jobs somewhere else.
Bob B. says
Hi! Just logging my response to your newsletter. We are scheduled to go to Kauai in June 2021. . Third time rescheduling. If this happens we will likely cancel and just forget about Kauai until something changes. Not my preference but our money has been tied up for awhile now. Thank you for your helpful newsletter! We’ll be back… someday!
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Bob.
Thanks. Hopefully, things will get somewhat more settled by then. We’ll keep updating.
Aloha.
Niki S. says
I am worried about using the rapid test as the 2nd test. They are not as reliable for asymptomatic people as the PCR tests. One brand has two many false positive, the other too many false negatives. Too risky to make the investment in a Hawaiian vacation.
elizabeth s. says
Are we crazy?
Just shut this thing down. Kauai cant handle it.
Taxing on our health care, and everybody’s heath.
We are paying a Very dear price for having tourists in at this time. There will be time
for tourism. It is not now.
It is definitely not now.