Hawaii Could Delay Return of Tourism Past September 1

Hawaii is considering delaying its return to tourism from September 1, 2020.

A spike in COVID-19 cases is causing alarm and officials are looking at delaying the start of a new testing program that would allow visitors to avoid Hawaii's mandatory 14-day quarantine.

The Islands were planning to permit visitors with a negative COVID-19 test to avoid the quarantine but cases of COVID-19 have increased dramatically.

Hawaii reported 355 infections on Thursday, a new record in the state. Cases increased 33 percent during the week of August 12. The only state that had a higher rate of increase was Vermont.

"With the case count increasing the way it has, it would be very difficult to implement and start the pre-travel (COVID-19) testing program on September 1," said Hawaii Governor David Ige, according to USA Today.

The decision about whether to delay the start of the new testing program for visitors will be made after looking at the next few days of COVID-19 data.

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