Hawaii lawmakers take into consideration standardized pandemic travel regulations

HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers are looking at a invoice that would standardize the state’s pandemic vacation limitations across the islands, a departure from the existing program that lets particular person counties to generate their own modified security measures.

Members of the Dwelling Finance Committee listened to testimony on the monthly bill Thursday.

Now, island counties have the choice to choose out of the state’s “Safe Travels” plan, which involves a single damaging COVID-19 test in advance of departure for Hawaii to stay clear of a obligatory quarantine. Counties can either demand men and women to quarantine for 10 times, put into practice supplemental screening requirements these types of as secondary tests or develop modified quarantines.

Any departures from the condition strategy should be approved by the governor.

The measure would need all counties to let travelers to be exempt from quarantine if they get a damaging COVID-19 examination under the state’s system. But it would also restrict the state’s skill to make swift modifications to rules with no legislative involvement.

The bill would also effectively end a program on the island of Kauai that now necessitates site visitors to have two detrimental COVID-19 assessments to get out of quarantine.

The U.S. Centers for Condition Handle and Prevention suggests that individuals do not journey at all suitable now. But if they have to the company indicates folks examination just before and just after their journeys and quarantine on both stop, a design Kauai adopted to make it possible for some website visitors.

Kauai offers two possibilities. People can get a detrimental pre-journey test and then spend a few days on a different island prior to screening once again and traveling to Kauai.

Travelers can also take part in a three-day “resort bubble” quarantine at a county-permitted property prior to getting a next test to be allowed into the neighborhood.