Hawaii Asks Tourists to Stay Away until October

There has been an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases in Hawaii, and, consequently, the state’s governor now asks tourists to stay away from the islands.

In a news conference on Monday, Governor David Ige asked Hawaii residents and visitors to delay all non-essential travel through the end of October 2021 due to the state’s high number of COVID-19 cases. The request is critical because the state’s hospitals are now near capacity — straining its health care facilities and resources.

“It is a risky time to be traveling right now,” Ige said. “I encourage everyone to restrict and curtail travel to Hawaii, residents and visitors alike. This is not a good time to travel to the islands.”

Approximately 62 percent of Hawaiian residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, this past Sunday was a record day for new COVID-19 cases in Hawaii. In fact, Sunday set a 1-day high of 885 new cases of COVID-19 in Hawaii.

Monday was nearly as bad. On that day, 571 additional COVID-19 cases were reported in Hawaii. Of those cases, 359 are on Oahu, 107 are on Hawaii Island, 79 are on Maui, 23 are on Kauai, 2 are on Lanai, and 1 Hawaii resident was diagnosed while out of state.

Hawaii has reported 56,670 new cases since the pandemic began, however, 9,389 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in the past two weeks, according to state data. That represents an average of 704 cases per day for the state over the past 7 days.

Source: Travel Awaits