Following weeks of warning signs, Hawaii has once again postponed its reopening to tourism, with Gov. David Ige citing "a surge in positive COVID-19 cases...numerous clusters and wide community spread" for the delay.
On Tuesday, Ige announced that the state will push back the start of its pre-travel COVID-19 testing program to at least October 1, keeping Hawaii's mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors in place for at least another six weeks.
"We will continue to monitor the conditions here in Hawaii as well as key markets on the mainland to determine the appropriate start date for the pre-travel (COVID-19) testing program," said Ige. "With the case count increasing the way it has, it would be very difficult to implement and start the pre-travel testing program on September 1."
The pre-travel testing program, which would allow travelers to bypass the two-week quarantine with proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, was originally scheduled to take effect on August 1 before being delayed until September 1 and now October 1.
The state plans to give travel suppliers and local businesses plenty of notice ahead of the program's official start. Ige has previously stated that Hawaii's hotels want at least three to four weeks' notice while airlines are asking for confirmation at least two weeks prior.
Nonetheless, the latest delay will impact not only travelers who may have made plans to visit the islands next month but suppliers like United Airlines, which planned to increase flights to Hawaii beginning in September.
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