Hawai‘i COVID-19 News Update – April 23, 2021
Aloha,
Here’s the latest COVID-19 news and issues facing Hawai'i that you need to know this week.
State officials plan to launch an interisland vaccine passport program for Hawai‘i residents on May 11.
- The new program will allow residents to travel inter-island without a pre-travel test or 14-day quarantine if they are fully vaccinated and have met the 14-day waiting period following the shot.
- Keith Vieira, principal at KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting, told the Honolulu Star Advertiser that, “it’s a positive step that Hawaii is moving in the direction of a vaccination passport and that it’s happening on all islands.”
- However, Hawai‘i residents who were vaccinated out of state and families with children under the age of 16 will still need to take a pre-travel test, according to Hawaiʻi News Now. So far, the State can only verify vaccinations given in Hawai‘i and the shot is not yet available for kids.
- The limitations of verifying vaccinations also mean the exemption is not yet applicable to trans-Pacific or international travelers. Governor Ige hopes the program will be able to include domestic trans-Pacific visitors until this summer.
Hawai‘i’s tourism industry is on the rebound thanks to rising trans-Pacific travel demand.
- Hotel occupancy in March rose to 43%, marking the highest statewide occupancy in the past 11 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Pacific Business News reports that Hawai‘i hotels didn’t have substantial monthly losses in occupancy for the first time in a year.
- Hawaiian Airlines launched non-stop service to Austin, Texas – the carrier’s fourth new route announcement in less than two months. CEO Peter Ingram said it has been at least 15 years since the airline launched so many new routes in such a short time.
- “We are feeling a little bit more of a bounce in our step. We know we aren’t out of the woods yet. But we are seeing more rays of sunshine than dark clouds — so we are really encouraged about how things are getting better,” Ingram said.
- Maui County may soon require trans-Pacific travelers to take a rapid COVID-19 test when they arrive at Kahului Airport, in addition to the pre-travel test, starting in early May.
Hawai‘i leads the nation with the lowest rate of new COVID-19 cases, according to new data from the CDC.
- The state also ranks seventh in the nation in terms of vaccination rates, having given nearly 77,000 doses per 100,000 population.
- However, KITV reports that demand for the vaccination is dropping, and counties are hoping to combat the decline in interest by offering pop-up vaccination clinics and running radio and social media campaigns.
- Economists with the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization predict Hawaiʻi will reach herd immunity from COVID-19 by early July if vaccination rates remain consistent.
- The Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi is pursuing a vaccine mandate for hospital workers after more than thirty percent of hospital employees declined vaccination when offered, according to KITV4.
Mahalo,
Your Bennet Group Team