Hawaii has reopened to visitors and returning residents this week, as they begin their highly anticipated ‘traveller testing’ program.
Under the new testing program, trans-Pacific visitors who have tested negative for COVID-19 in the 72 hours prior to departure can skip the otherwise mandatory two-week quarantine.
The first big, trans-Pacific flight arrived around 10:30 am, and was followed by around 30 more planes that day, carrying around 7,000 passengers.
Although it’s a huge increase on passenger numbers over the last few months, it’s still a big drop from the usual 30,000 a day.
Many passengers followed the new rules, it seems that many did not realise the extent of the new requirements in place, arriving without masks and without the necessary paperwork.
Lt. Gov. Josh Green said that it it seems some passengers didn’t do their research or fully understand the program before getting on the plane.
“We do expect some people only read part of the instructions. Some people will think they don’t need to get any test at all. That’s not approved.” He added: "We’re trying to be extremely safe because we don’t want to have an outbreak.”
Melinda Huey, who lives part-time on the island of Maui, was one of the first to take advantage of the new testing program, flying in from San Diego on Thursday.
She also said some passengers weren’t following the rules, stressing that “Masks are important. Hand sanitizer’s important.”
Hawaii’s Transportation Department has said it’s ready to handle all the different types of travellers –both those who have followed the rules and pre-tested, and those that haven’t –and are prepared for all the arrivals starting Thursday.
Travellers visiting from the mainland, however, have expressed their concern at how hard tests have been to get, in time to travel, with some saying they have had to drive for hours to find a testing facility without significant wait times.
Inter-island travel has also opened up, except for visitors to 'Big Island', who will still need to undergo two weeks quarantine.
The island state relies heavily on tourism, and have been closed to visitors for the last few months as the U.S battles with soaring case numbers.
Jenna Rank
Jenna has visited over 50 countries across the world, and hopes to visit 100 by 2025
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