While California undoubtedly has arcane and restrictive coronavirus policies, no state can hold a candle to Hawaii. Unfortunately, the 50th state still has strict quarantine rules despite robust vaccination programs and the eye-opening science that came to light in the Anthony Fauci emails.
Sadly for a woman hoping to escape the stupidity of California, the island’s restrictions trapped her, and she said “aloha” to the rest of her vacation.
Officers with the Maui Police Department (MPD) arrested a California visitor Wednesday after violating travel quarantine orders.
45-year-old Denora Montalvan flew in from San Jose without a negative pre-travel Covid-19 test from an approved facility. MPD says she also did not have approved lodging to complete the mandatory 10-day quarantine.Montalvan was transported to the Wailuku Police Station for processing.Her bail is set at $2,000.
A woman from Oregon also recently ran afoul of the Hawaiian requirements. As a result, her stay was also cut short.
After arriving on a flight form Seattle, Kelsey Newcomer, 36, of Portland, did not have a negative pre-travel COVID-19 test from an approved facility and she did not have approved lodging where she could complete a mandatory 10-day travel quarantine, Maui police said.She was taken to a police station in Wailuku and later agreed leave Maui and return to Oregon, police said. She was traveling alone, according to Alana Pico, a police spokeswoman.Newcomer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
The confusing rules over acceptable COVID tests have complicated the issue. Los Angeles newlywed couple Alayne and Milton Thompson jumped through flaming hoops and still used the “quarantine rooms.”
When the Thompsons landed in Honolulu, they were ordered to go directly to the quarantine section of a beachfront hotel — but not in the beachfront rooms they’d paid for — for the rest of their trip.“They started telling us we have the wrong COVID test, we have the wrong COVID test,” Alayne said. “I said that we’re vaccinated, we have cards to prove it.”Hawaii’s COVID travel portal states: “All travelers must have a negative test result BEFORE beginning the final leg of their trip. Anyone without a negative test result PRIOR to departure must quarantine upon arrival. FDA-approved NAAT tests, processed by a CLIA-certified laboratory are the only types of coronavirus tests currently approved by the state of Hawai’i.”
Happily, for both tourists and Hawaiians relying on the tourism industry, it appears that the state public health officials may soon free everyone from coronavirus bondage.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Friday that the state will drop its quarantine and COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers once 70% of the state’s population has been vaccinated against the disease. Hawaii will also lift its requirement that people wear masks indoors once that level has been reached, he said.The state Department of Health website said 59% of Hawaii’s population has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 52% finished their dosing regimen.The state is using its figures, and not those provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to calculate thresholds for lifting restrictions. Health Department Director Dr. Libby Char said that’s because Hawaii’s numbers are more accurate. She said it appears the CDC has been counting some of Hawaii’s doses twice.
I have Hawaii at the bottom of my list for domestic travel plans. Florida, on the other hand, has moved into the top position.
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