Mayors now urging governor to require second, post-arrival test for travelers

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Several days after Kauai opted out of the state’s pre-travel testing program, Mayor Derek Kawakami says leaders of each county are calling on Gov. Ige for more required testing.

In a county update Friday, he said the proposal is now before the governor.

“All four of Hawaii’s mayors have agreed on a unified proposal to require that the Safe Travels program require all incoming trans-pacific travelers to take a pre-travel test along with a second, post-travel test three to four days after arrival. This statewide proposal has been presented to Governor Ige for his consideration,” Mayor Kawakami said.

This push from the mayors comes as lawmakers on the state’s special COVID-19 committee also want more testing for arriving travelers.

[Read more: Lawmakers push for two tests for travelers, reduced quarantine time]

Hawaii News Now has reached out to the Governor’s office for comment, but has not yet heard back.

Kauai was the first county to opt out of the program after concerns that too many COVID-positive travelers were slipping through the cracks, only to be caught by their voluntary, post-arrival test.

So far, Kauai County has had more than 70 travel-related cases since the tourism relaunch on October 15.

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