Lt. Governor Josh Green suggests extending pre-test period, second test for arriving passengers

The way to “perfect the system” for testing Hawaii passengers bound for COVID-19 would be to extend mandatory pre-flight testing from three days to four and then require a second test on arrival, said Lieutenant Governor Josh Green. Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Spotlight Hawaii online video program today.

The additional fourth day to get tested for COVID-19 before boarding a flight to Hawaii would give passengers more time to find a test site and receive their results. A second test on arrival would provide an additional level of certainty for concerned residents and their mayors, who are calling for new requirements.

But Green said there is little reason to change the current system as it shows positive results, although concerns remain about its effects on a struggling tourism-based economy.

“Right now the system is working,” Green said. “I don’t know why people would want to make wholesale changes to a system where we have the lowest COVID rate in the country. We have the lowest death rate in the country from COVID. The active cases per capita, I believe, are the lowest in the country and we are the only country (state) to have significant trips thanks to the Safe Travels program.

Health officials in Hawaii today reported 71 new COVID-19 infections in Oahu; five each on Kauai and the Big Island; four in Maui; and seven residents of Hawaii diagnosed out of state. As a result of updated information, two cases on Oahu have been removed from statewide accounts.