pre-flight tests

HONOLULU (AP) — A couple arrested at a Hawaii airport after traveling from the U.S. mainland despite knowing they were infected with COVID-19 took several flights, authorities said.

Wesley Moribe, 41, and Courtney Peterson, 46, boarded a United Airlines flight to Lihue with a 4-year-old child after testing positive for the coronavirus while returning home from international travel and transiting between Seattle, San Francisco and Hawaii, the Kauai Police Department said.

Updated: 12/1/2020, 12:09 p.m. 

The state Department of Health reported no deaths and 44 new COVID-19 cases today. Because of the department's two-day delay in posting new numbers, the counts represent cases from Sunday.

Some counties are reporting more timely numbers that may differ from the state's counts.

According to the state numbers, Oahu had 32 new cases, Maui 5, Hawaii County 6, and Kauai, Molokai and Lanai 0. There were no new cases diagnosed out of state.

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Lt. Gov. Josh Green suggested that the way to “perfect" the state's coronavirus testing system for incoming travelers is to extend the mandatory pre-flight testing window from three days prior to arrival to four and requiring a second test when the person touches down.

Sixty-four passengers from Japan arrived at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport yesterday under the state's pre-travel testing program, allowing them to bypass the mandatory two-week quarantine.

Updated: 10/26/2020, 12:15 p.m. Gov. David Ige has approved a stay-at-home order and travel restrictions on Lanai beginning at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. The order would require travelers and visitors to remain at home or in their lodgings except for essential reasons such as grocery shopping.

Honolulu police issued warnings or citations to thousands of people in violation of coronavirus protocols since the state launched a pre-arrival testing program to reopen to tourists.

Updated: 10/21/2020, 1:05 p.m.

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported 14 deaths and 78 new COVID-19 cases. The state said 10 of the deaths were reported as a result of updated information from Hawaii Island nursing homes. They occurred from mid-September to early October. Four more recent deaths occurred on Oahu.

Over 7,000 trans-Pacific passengers arrived Friday, the second day of Hawaii's Safe Travels program that allows visitors and returning residents to skip the travel quarantine if they take a pre-test showing they are negative for COVID-19.

FRANKFURT, Germany — What will it take to get people flying again? International air traffic is down 92% this year as travelers worry about catching COVID-19 and government travel bans and quarantine rules make planning difficult. One thing airlines believe could help is to have rapid virus tests of all passengers before departure.

The first day of Hawaii's Safe Travels program allowing visitors and returning residents to skip the travel quarantine if they pre-tested negative for COVID-19 saw over 10,000 arrivals, up from the approximately 2,000 daily passengers in previous days.

Updated: 10/16/2020, 3:21 p.m. 

The state Department of Health today reported 1 death and 89 new COVID-19 cases. The latest case count represents the second day running of daily infections in the double digits. The number brings the statewide total of coronavirus cases to 13,853. The death toll rose to 185.

Hawaii plans to reopen to trans-Pacific travelers without quarantine starting Thursday if the passengers can show a negative COVID-19 test. The procedures are as complex as a Rube Goldberg machine.

Updated: 10/13/2020, 12:26 p.m.

Where we stand

The state Department of Health today reported four deaths and 62 new COVID-19 cases. The latest case count is the second day in a row that daily infections fell to double-digits. The numbers bring the statewide total of COVID cases to 13,575. The death toll rose to 173.

Updated: 10/10/2020, 12:05 p.m. Gov. David Ige has tentatively agreed to let Hawaii Island impose a second test on arriving tourists following a pre-flight test for COVID-19, but he has not yet signed off completely, his office said today. This comes as the state health department reports two more deaths and 73 new cases of the virus.

Updated: 10/8/2020, 12:10 p.m.

The Hawaii Department of Health today reported one new death from COVID-19 and 101 new cases. The latest statewide case count brought the total number of infections to 13,146 since the pandemic began. Deaths total 164. 

There have now been 11,788 cases on Oahu (86 new cases), 866 on Hawaii Island (14 new cases), 397 for Maui County (1 new case), and 59 on Kauai County (no new cases). Those diagnosed out of state stood at 36. 

Maui and Kauai haven’t decided whether they will follow the lead of the Big Island and opt out of the state’s pre-travel testing program, leaving the 14-day quarantine in place.

As more questions and concerns about the state’s pre-travel testing program have surfaced in recent days, Lt. Gov. Josh Green yesterday defended the program, which is set to start in a couple of weeks. 

Hawaii officials are making final updates to an online application for collecting traveler information to enforce public safety measures related to the coronavirus.

Updated: 9/29/2020, 12:53 p.m. A Navy investigation into the Pearl Harbor shooting in December found no motive for the rampage. The gunman killed two civilians, injured another and took his own life.

Mainland travelers may be able to avoid quarantine if they get a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in Hawaii starting October 15th. But some say the one-test plan is unsafe for Hawaii.