wco81

Of course, those states which are reopening may live to regret it if there are mini outbreaks.

Extended family gathering for a birthday party in Pasadena led to 5 confirmed cases and several other suspected cases. There was one guest coughing up and nobody had masks.

So while it would be nice to go to some restaurant with a great view, if you have to sit close to strangers, probably not worth the risk.

JNelson113

The party was held on March 19th, at a time when almost no one was wearing a mask. The CDC didn't advise wearing masks until a few weeks later. It seems like it was around the week of March 16th that people started seriously quarantining, so this is a few days after that. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ne...ty/ar-BB13QRNW

I think that people are far more aware of coronavirus and are taking it far more seriously now than they were in mid-March. Mask wearing is up, hand washing is up, no one dares cough around others.

LIH Prem

That's the point, isn't it? A lot of people here seem to be rather pissed that the state is saying please don't come right now, but as soon as we figure out how to do it safely without overwhelming the very limited heath system here, (we only have around 200 - 300 ICU beds and even less ventilators state-wide, with most of those on Oahu) we'd be happy to have you then.

Sorry you feel upset about it, but I don't think you'd like it very much if Hawaii becomes a hot spot and there's no possible way to take care of those that are sick and many were visitors.

Yes, the economy is hurting badly, and will continue to do so. They are starting to loosen up the restrictions on low risk businesses with some retail starting to reopen on the neighbor islands already and Oahu starting on May 15th.

-David

Alex_I

- I do not feel upset of not traveling to Hawaii. I have been there too many times and I am perfectly fine with three season weather and great outdoor where I am now and a short drive to spectacular beaches of North and South Carolina. In contrast to HI, Hilton Head island (69 ml2; ca. 40,000 population) in SC is opening right now. In terms of tourists and population density is likely not much different from HI except Oahu. Moreover, known as a Yankee retreat, Hilton Head is traditionally getting many visitors from upper East Coast - the epicenter of current pandemic in US. With no travel restriction in place we will simply see how this opening would go.

747FC

As a Hawaii resident, I find this post very insensitive. It is OK with you if people go bankrupt in the place you claim to love?

Look at the infection rates around the country and you can see that Hawaii is among the lowest. One does not achieve that without effort and making tough decisions. Sorry if that temporarily ruins your vacation plans.

I'll leave it at that...

HaleiwaFlyer

The poster is actually not insensitive, rather the post reflects the current quarantine rules that the State of Hawaii has enacted that deters tourism for Hawaii. How is it insensitive for the poster to state that the money he would have spent in Hawaii for vacation is going to another state because of the anti-tourism rules enacted by the State? The rules enacted by the State of Hawaii has or is going to bankrupt a lot of local businesses to protect the local community. That is the price Hawaii has to pay to protect the population, and is the price the State of Hawaii has deemed reasonable to enact such quarantine rules, regardless of how many local business goes bankrupt for the greater good of the community. How is it the poster's fault if Hawaii doesn't want his tourism dollars with the quarantine rules? The State of Hawaii could easily support local business in time of the economic down turn caused by the 14 day quarantine rule, but they do not.

As a Hawaii resident, what I find troubling is the lack of clear guidance on future economic activity while balancing the health of the community. I mean guidance beyond opening the local shops for the local community. Leadership needs to make this tough decision, and that is their job. How are they going to allow international travelers? When do they want to lift the 14 day quarantine? To receive tourism dollars, the 14 day quarantine needs to be lifted.

Even General Hara in charge of Hawaii's COVID 19 response is worried about the economic state of Hawaii without clear guidance.

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/0...ife-continues/

wco81

Only 200-300 ICU beds in the whole state?

We have heard of patients who supposedly had mild cases and then suddenly proceeding to severe or critical cases.

Might need medical evacuation insurance just in case.

mtofell

"They hope tourism can open up safely by the end of summer" - Yikes!! - Sounds like anyone hoping for the 14-day quarantine to go away anytime soon is in for some disappointment.

Ige is such a clown.... he just completely brushes off the recommendation and opinion of the general.

747FC

I'm no Ige fanboy, nor one of the Department of Health. I know that to be a politician one needs to have a thick skin. It is obvious to me that leaders listen to many sources, and ultimately must make a timely decision and communicate in a clear and effective manner. Ige fails on these measures.

Hawaii has one of the largest elderly populations in the US https://www.prb.org/which-us-states-are-the-oldest/ and one of the highest rates of kidney disease requiring dialysis https://www.kidney.org/news/newsroom/nr/KD_StateHardHit Clearly, our population is at risk of being hard hit by the pandemic. Any leader has to pay attention to these numbers, particularly one of an island entity. So if Ige errs on the side of caution, that is understandable.

It makes sense to reopen the economy to within-state transactions and test the impact before opening it up to tourists coming in from COVID hotspots. Anyone who has been a tourist knows that vacations are a time for letting loose , excessive drinking and sometimes making poor decisions. Ige is smart to go slow. We can't afford anything less.

slippahs

/moderator note/

TOPIC CHECK - Please save your political comments for the OMNI forum. Since this is the Hawaii travel forum related to traveling to the Islands, any future posts related to political discussions will be removed. Mahalo for your cooperation in advance.

LIH Prem

this is what was published on March 19 by Honolulu Civil Beat... 340 ICU units including military, most of them are on Oahu.



https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/03/ar...or-a-pandemic/

During the good times, Hawaii was getting 30,000 arrivals a day, by air. Not including cruise ships as far as I know.

Meanwhile, check this google image search out ("rental cars in fields on Maui")

https://www.google.com/search?q=rent...=1480&bih=1024

-David

DCAhome

Thank you!!

Boraxo

No, I love the Hawaiian people and the islands, [comment redacted by moderator per guidelines posted above by the moderation team; feel free to re-express your statement without overt political language]. Iceland is planning to re-open to tourists with testing on arrival (as is the case for Austria). But it sounds like a majority of the population on Oahu supports the ultra-conservative approach. So again. sad that I can't visit Hawaii, but plenty of other options will be available.

HawaiiSailor

A testing-on-arrival or before departure approach, potentially combined with a mobile phone contract tracing app is being worked on, and would be popular as a way to reduce risk while restarting tourism. The “Travel with Aloha” program.

Just restarting and giving people a free aloha print mask and squirt of pineapple-scented hand sanitizer in the jetbridge in lieu of a lei would be less popular.

eeflyer

Has anyone had experience with arrivals from the mainland and connecting to an interisland flight on Oahu? I am debating going back in the next month, but heard of a secondhand experience of travelers being turned away at the airport due to the agent thinking that the passenger would have to quarantine for two weeks on Oahu before continuing on to the neighbor island. Of course, it sounds like the usual exaggeration but I was hoping to get input. I'd probably be booking the mainland-HNL and interisland flights on separate tickets and would have to walk my checked luggage over. And yes, I'd be quarantining once I reached the neighbor island.