County still waiting on Ige’s responses to Secure Travels principles

LIHU‘E — Two regional procedures proposed by Mayor Derek Kawakami to the condition remain in limbo, with hopes diminishing on acquiring acceptance from Gov. David Ige.

Monday afternoon, the county submitted two proposed nearby policies that would bridge gaps in the state’s Risk-free Travels system which allows vacationers to bypass a necessary 14-day quarantine with a negative COVID-19 exam in just 72 hours of arrival into the condition or into the county.

“Our Kaua‘i Incident Administration Team feels strongly that we are at a significant juncture the place swift decisive action is needed, but my authority as Mayor is restricted and in the long run, it needs the approval of the Governor,” Kawakami stated Wednesday afternoon.

The first rule would have to have contributors of the method to quarantine for 72 several hours prior to having a mandatory post-journey take a look at. Upon a detrimental end result, the traveler might be released from the quarantine.

“Our top intention is to steer clear of overrunning our healthcare capacity and to prevent a full shutdown of our financial state,” he explained. “The 2nd write-up-travel test with a short 3-working day quarantine would seem to be the best compromise to make certain a genuinely Secure Vacation application.”

The second rule needs vacationers to have a detrimental take a look at prior to traveling to Kaua‘i. If success are not offered on arrival on island, the traveler would be demanded to quarantine for two weeks.

“Requiring tourists to have a damaging examination ahead of they land is a obvious and very simple need, and we will continue on to push for that end result,” Kawakami said.

In the previous, Ige prompt he’d respond within just a 24-hour window on getting guidelines, which has eclipsed. Tuesday, Ige instructed KITV that he probably would not approve these regulations and that the condition is performing on its own adjustments to the plan.

Really should policies keep on to be denied, the county may take into account leaving the Safe and sound Travels application.

Kawakami known as the policies “bold, prevalent-feeling alternatives to continue to keep our county open up and allow us to remain in Tier 4.”

He reiterated that opting out would be “detrimental to lots of of our compact firms.”

“But if the state is unwilling to involve tourists to consider very simple precautions, we are unable to proceed to help the Lt. Governor’s latest journey plan as-is,” Kawakami explained.

Due to the fact the state’s Oct. 15 reopening, the county has found 9 travel-related constructive scenarios that concerned vacationers who experienced taken a pre-vacation but obtained their optimistic success after boarding their flights and arriving on the island.

“This means they could have unknowingly uncovered others to the virus though traveling and during their time on island,” Kawakami said. “This is a risky gap in the recent Safe and sound Travels application that we would like to repair.”

Fourteen cases have been linked to tourists with a unfavorable pre-vacation take a look at later getting diagnosed with COVID-19 both through a voluntary put up-examination or indicators, together with a new scenario announced Wednesday.

Wednesday’s new scenario brought the county’s cumulative case overall to 95, with 85 verified locally. There is currently one particular person hospitalized and the rest in isolation, according to the county.

The county continues to be on Tier 4, the lowest, the very least restrictive tier on Kauai’s Business enterprise and Recreational Rules for COVID-19 Tier Tracker. A transition to Tier 3, which restricts gatherings, if COVID-19 would occur if the county sees a weekly regular of two or more instances per day for two weeks or check positivity prices remains exceeds a weekly average of 1% for two months.