[Closed - new thread started] Will Hawaii Open by [OCTOBER???] [Please use this thread for all Hawaii Coronavirus discussions]

[dsmrp]

Hawaii Lt Gov tests positive for Covid-19. Doing well at home.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/09/12/hawaii-news/lt-gov-josh-green-tests-positive/

 

[csodjd]

131 New cases reported. Lt. Gov. said earlier this week that they need it sustained at 150 or below to be able to open Oct 1. They are on that pace with a current 7-day moving average of 129 that's steadily dropping. The infection rate is steady at 2.4%. Rt improved to 0.86.

Notably, its now 5 days since Labor Day, which means new cases from "misbehaving" over the weekend are now appearing if they're going to appear (though they can appear for up to 14 days, the majority occur within about 5-6 days). So one would imagine that some of those 131 are from Labor Day weekend exposure/infection, and there's no clear bump or jump, which bodes well. It should steadily drop from here.

 

[Tamaradarann]

131 New cases reported. Lt. Gov. said earlier this week that they need it sustained at 150 or below to be able to open Oct 1. They are on that pace with a current 7-day moving average of 129 that's steadily dropping. The infection rate is steady at 2.4%. Rt improved to 0.86.

Notably, its now 5 days since Labor Day, which means new cases from "misbehaving" over the weekend are now appearing if they're going to appear (though they can appear for up to 14 days, the majority occur within about 5-6 days). So one would imagine that some of those 131 are from Labor Day weekend exposure/infection, and there's no clear bump or jump, which bodes well. It should steadily drop from here.

View attachment 26504

So the Lt. Governor said that if they sustain an infection rate below 150 they can "open" October 1. Does that mean open to let visitors from the Continental US come without having a 14 day Quarantine, or just allow people that are already in Honolulu to go out on the street whenever they want not just for essential reasons? For my purposes "open" means allowing visitors to come without having to endure a 14 day quarantine as long as they have had a Coronavirus test within 3 days with a negative result. If that is not what is meant then this announcment has no relevance to me. If the meaning of open is what I described above then I have 2 thoughts with respect to that. One is that Hawaii didn't have anywhere near 150 cases back in June and July and they didn't open for the arrival of visitors. Two is that the Lt. Governor is saying this, what does the Governor say?

 

[csodjd]

So the Lt. Governor said that if they sustain an infection rate below 150 they can "open" October 1. Does that mean open to let visitors from the Continental US come without having a 14 day Quarantine, or just allow people that are already in Honolulu to go out on the street whenever they want not just for essential reasons? For my purposes "open" means allowing visitors to come without having to endure a 14 day quarantine as long as they have had a Coronavirus test within 3 days with a negative result. If that is not what is meant then this announcment has no relevance to me. If the meaning of open is what I described above then I have 2 thoughts with respect to that. One is that Hawaii didn't have anywhere near 150 cases back in June and July and they didn't open for the arrival of visitors. Two is that the Lt. Governor is saying this, what does the Governor say?

The Lt. Gov. means open for trans-pacific visitors subject to a negative test. But, yes, he‘s not the Governor. I don’t see what June/July has to do with any of this. There’s little doubt that if Hawaii had maintained its very low case rate it would have opened already to trans-pacific travelers. But they didn’t.

 

[b2bailey]

I've held onto my hope for a 70th Birthday trip to Maui in mid October. Made a few changes so I can quarantine 14 days at Marriott Kaanapali, if need be. Being retired, my time is cheap.

On the slight possibility that Oct 1 will be allowing entry with proof of negative test, I have started to look at possible testing sites in the Santa Cruz/San Jose vicinity because that's where I will be prior to flight departure.

So far, no success. Now I am imagining Maui open for inbound, but me not able to get tested. What to do?

 

[Tamaradarann]

The Lt. Gov. means open for trans-pacific visitors subject to a negative test. But, yes, he‘s not the Governor. I don’t see what June/July has to do with any of this. There’s little doubt that if Hawaii had maintained its very low case rate it would have opened already to trans-pacific travelers. But they didn’t.

OK, do you agree that back in June and July there were the very low case rates in Hawaii, much lower than 150/day. In June there was talk of opening Hawaii to Trans-Pacific Visitors but the Governor extended the 14 Quarantine over and over again. Now the cases are much higher than in June and July, so what is so great about coming down to less than 150 cases/day make him open Hawaii to visitors?

 

[amy241]

So the Lt. Governor said that if they sustain an infection rate below 150 they can "open" October 1. Does that mean open to let visitors from the Continental US come without having a 14 day Quarantine, or just allow people that are already in Honolulu to go out on the street whenever they want not just for essential reasons? For my purposes "open" means allowing visitors to come without having to endure a 14 day quarantine as long as they have had a Coronavirus test within 3 days with a negative result. If that is not what is meant then this announcment has no relevance to me. If the meaning of open is what I described above then I have 2 thoughts with respect to that. One is that Hawaii didn't have anywhere near 150 cases back in June and July and they didn't open for the arrival of visitors. Two is that the Lt. Governor is saying this, what does the Governor say?

Exactly - the Lt. Gov. has always been more reasonable about reopening IMHO. The Gov. is a different story. . . .

 

[slip]

OK, do you agree that back in June and July there were the very low case rates in Hawaii, much lower than 150/day. In June there was talk of opening Hawaii to Trans-Pacific Visitors but the Governor extended the 14 Quarantine over and over again. Now the cases are much higher than in June and July, so what is so great about coming down to less than 150 cases/day make him open Hawaii to visitors?

One thing the Governor was doing at that time was watching Alaska’s policy. They were using testing and he was watching the results there. He also was working on the testing plan for Hawaii. He said that was causing delays and then the cases started to increase. So now we are assuming they have everything they need in place for that plan but we haven’t been given any updates about it.

We’ll see shortly but just going off past history, I think it will be pushed back to November 1st. We’ll see.

 

[jabberwocky]

OK, do you agree that back in June and July there were the very low case rates in Hawaii, much lower than 150/day. In June there was talk of opening Hawaii to Trans-Pacific Visitors but the Governor extended the 14 Quarantine over and over again. Now the cases are much higher than in June and July, so what is so great about coming down to less than 150 cases/day make him open Hawaii to visitors?

150 is just an arbitrary number, but it does give them something to point to. A more nuanced approach would be to also look at things like hospital capacity. I think the biggest difference between now and June/July is that the $600/week unemployment benefit wasn’t extended. Reality is starting to sink in of how decimated the tourism industry is, and the impact it will have on ordinary people.

 

[Tamaradarann]

150 is just an arbitrary number, but it does give them something to point to. A more nuanced approach would be to also look at things like hospital capacity. I think the biggest difference between now and June/July is that the $600/week unemployment benefit wasn’t extended. Reality is starting to sink in of how decimated the tourism industry is, and the impact it will have on ordinary people.

I can agree with what you are saying. I believe there are basically two camps that are pushing and pulling the Governor. One that wants to keep Hawaii closed as much as possible to tourists to prevent them from bringing infection into Hawaii. That group has gotten what they wanted up till now, the other wants Hawaii to open up so that the tourist industry can start to come back to normal and the economy thrive again. From an objective perspective I can understand both sides point of view.

From a personal perspective we had originally planned to return to Hawaii this month. Therefore, we wanted Hawaii to open up with pre-flight testing back in June so that the negative impact as well as the economic rebound of the return of large amounts of tourists would have the opportunity to fully develop before our trip. When that didn't happen we moved our plans back to November. As the 14 day quarantine got moved back again and again we gave up on on a 2020 return and will focus on a 2021 return. (By the way it is interesting the the Hilton Hawaiian Village where we stay most of the time kept moving back its opening dates in small increments from late May to mid June to early July to August to September, to October. However now they have also moved back all the way back to the middle of December which is the start of the Christmas Season and the HGVC Timeshare Premium Event Weeks 51 & 52.

 

[JanT]

Mods, feel free to move this to the Hawaii Covid-19 discussion thread but I was trying to avoid this question getting lost in the on-going discussion about cases, etc.

I can't help but wonder if when Hawaii does open back up to trans-pacific travel without a 14 day quarantine or if they have the ability to do rapid testing upon arrival, will people actually go? With concerns about getting on airplanes and Covid-19 in general I'm not sure people will chance it. Of course, there are those that are traveling without much or any concern of contracting/spreading the virus (no judgment - just stating a fact) so I'm sure they will go. But, what will the abundance of the general population do? Just tossing this out there for TUGGER opinions. PLEASE don't turn this into a thread about rising case numbers, government bashing, arguing over someone's opinion, etc. I would just like TUGGER opinions on whether they think people will actually travel there once it's opened back up with few restrictions.

 

[controller1]

Mods, feel free to move this to the Hawaii Covid-19 discussion thread but I was trying to avoid this question getting lost in the on-going discussion about cases, etc.

I can't help but wonder if when Hawaii does open back up to trans-continental travel without a 14 day quarantine or if they have the ability to do rapid testing upon arrival, will people actually go? With concerns about getting on airplanes and Covid-19 in general I'm not sure people will chance it. Of course, there are those that are traveling without much or any concern of contracting/spreading the virus (no judgment - just stating a fact) so I'm sure they will go. But, what will the abundance of the general population do? Just tossing this out there for TUGGER opinions. PLEASE don't turn this into a thread about rising case numbers, government bashing, arguing over someone's opinion, etc. I would just like TUGGER opinions on whether they think people will actually travel there once it's opened back up with few restrictions.

Two things about Hawaii opening up trans-Pacific travel and they are both going against your assumptions. 1) I don't see for the next six to nine months Hawaii completely eliminating the 14-day quarantine and 2) Hawaii has insisted they do not wish to do testing upon arrival but want the testing to be done prior to the flight to Hawaii. To do testing upon arrival will logjam the airport and I'm not sure very many people will pay the cost to fly to Hawaii and risk not being able to enjoy themselves without knowing prior to the flight they won't need to quarantine.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I hope it opens up. We have a reservation for BI/Maui in June/July 2021. I am starting to get cabin fever and may travel somewhere soon.

 

[Luanne]

I can only speak for myself and my dh. We will feel more comfortable traveling when there is a vaccine. Currently we have one week booked on Maui for March 2022. If we still don't feel comfortable by that point we will cancel.

 

[Luanne]

I hope it opens up. We have a reservation for BI/Maui in June/July 2020. I am starting to get cabin fever and may travel somewhere soon.

I hope you meant June/July 2021.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I hope you meant June/July 2021.

Oops good catch! Corrected post. Must have been wishful thinking.

 

[LannyPC]

I would just like TUGGER opinions on whether they think people will actually travel there once it's opened back up with few restrictions.

Well, for my NSHO, I will not travel anywhere unless/until there are no restrictions. Not just few --- zero!

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I don’t think Hawaii will be open till summer of 2021 without a 14 day quarantine. I’m hoping to go in 2022

 

[Luanne]

I don’t think Hawaii will be open till summer of 2021 without a 14 day quarantine.

One reason we decided to skip our annual trip to Maui for March 2021. Well that, and the whole vaccine thing.

 

[linsj]

Once the quarantine is lifted, I'll be making reservations for the first two weeks I can get away. Thankfully, my schedule is flexible. I've already canceled one booking and changed another to a different location this year.

 

[DeniseM]

There has been some infighting within this department - hopefully, they have it straightened out now:

Emily Roberson, Hawaii’s new head of contact tracing, moves quickly to revamp the program | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii is at a critical crossroads in reining in the coronavirus that has killed nearly 100 and sickened more than 10,500 statewide, wreaking havoc on the economy and leaving thousands of residents jobless.

www.staradvertiser.com

 

[DeniseM]

There is pent up demand for travel to Hawaii - there are lots of people who want to go as soon as the quarantine is lifted.

•I'm going to leave this as a stand-alone thread until tomorrow, and then link it to the primary C19 thread.

 

[klpca]

I'm one who is obviously trying to go. My thinking is this - I'm a bit reassured by the thought that everyone on the plane going to Hawaii has been tested. You cannot say the same about flights to other places. Also we are not indoorsy people, not before covid and definitely not now, so we won't be eating inside of any restaurants while we travel. We will eat inside of our unit or maybe on the lanai. We are also not pool people - if it's open we will be on the beach or, more likely, in the water. I realize that it's a gamble but so is the grocery store at this point. I wear my mask everywhere, including on my walks and have always been a consistent hand washer so I feel like I've given myself the best chance.

Everyone is different and everyone has different circumstances so you will find no judgement from me. I'm probably less bothered by it because except for a the first month I've been at my office a lot (almost the same as pre-covid) and my daughter who works retail has as well. I even eat at outdoor restaurants. We wear our masks religiously and, knock on wood, so far so good.

 

[jabberwocky]

I've canceled our March 2021 booking and have rebooked into August for Maui next year. There is just too much risk to outlay thousands of dollars for airfare with a family of 6.

If the pre-test requirements aren't relaxed, by next summer, we'll probably look elsewhere and/or bank our SO until 2023 - as much as I hate to give up home resort reservations. Locally where we live tests are currently taking 7-8 days to get results back since everyone and their dog are eligible for asymptomatic tests. If Hawaii allowed the rapid COVID tests or did testing on arrival that would be fine with us.

In the meantime, California and Mexico will be getting our tourist dollars with our next two timeshare stays (December and March).

 

[geist1223]

We would be there in a heart beat if they opened Hawaii without a quarantine. Not worried at all about being on an airplane with their HEPA Filters and circulation pattern.