Ige Extends State, Inter-Island Travel Quarantines

PC: Pixabay. May 2019.

Travel quarantines will remain in place through at least the end of next month.

Gov. David Ige on Monday announced the extensions of both the mandatory, 14-day travel quarantine for travelers arriving to Hawai‘i, as well as for those traveling between islands.

Both quarantines are now in effect until June 30, as stipulated in the governor’s 8th supplemental emergency proclamation, which he signed Monday. Ige also extended through the end of June the eviction moratorium that prevents evictions from residential dwellings for failure to pay rent.

The decision will continue to put a squeeze on tourism, as more than 100 hotels and resorts statewide remain closed.

On Sunday, 991 people arrived in Hawai‘i by air. During this same time last year, nearly 30,000 passengers arrived in the state daily, including residents and visitors.

More than 100,000 employees in Hawai‘i’s hospitality industry have been laid off over the last two-plus months, contributing significantly to what is now the highest unemployment rate in the United States, which topped out at nearly 40%.

The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, in conjunction with the federal government, has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment since the COVID-19 pandemic began.