Originally Posted by
Section 107
proof of a negative test is pointless - it is only good for the moment the sample was taken. After that, all bets are off because the person could be infected an hour later by some asymptomatic person walking around the airport spewing virus all over the place (a la the USS Roosevelt and everywhere else around the planet).
In addition, there are periods when a person has the virus but tests negative. And most of the tests right now have unacceptable rates of both false negatives and false positives (I wonder, what's an acceptable rate of false results?) like the ones in use at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
If I get rejected from travel for a false positive, who is gonna pay for all my expenses - the state of Hawaii? WN? travel Insurance companies? And, as mentioned earlier, what if only one person in the traveling party tests positive? "No, no, no, that's okay honey, you and the kids go on without me...I will be fine hanging out here at SFO until you get back...."
It’s not perfect but it’s a risk reduction method that could be tried by itself or in conjunction with other things to find a balance of what works steady state. It also adds some extra friction, complexity, and cost to coming to Hawaii which could help keep the curve of new arrival counts flatter than it may otherwise be. Once Hawaii proves it can handle a certain number of visitors safely, it can then grow back towards a new carrying capacity as the economy improves. Residents, businesses, and lenders will be patient while that grows back as long as it’s happening vs not.
In terms of who’s responsible for your planned travel if you test positive, that would be between you and your travel insurance and travel providers to worry about. If you get a result you think is a false positive 72 hrs before travel, then you still have time to get another test to try to verify that. I don’t know why anyone would want to travel by air if they just got a positive result, suspected false or not.