Hawaii Extended Its Mandated Quarantine For Out Of State Travelers Until The End Of July And Is Implementing Controversial Technology To Find Sick Travelers
by Heather Cassell
Travelers going on a Hawaiian vacation before the end of July just got their trip extended by 14-days or delayed until August.
Hawaii Governor David Ige announced June 10 that the Rainbow State would extend the current quarantine period for out-of-state visitors to July 31 meaning that any new arrivals into the islands will have to sequester themselves for two weeks before interacting with residents.
There have been 680 cases and 17 deaths related to the novel coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, in Hawaii as of June 12, reported the New York Times.
Hawaii has been under a strict quarantine mandate since March 26. The mandate was about to expire June 16 until David’s extension Wednesday.
The extension didn’t include inter-island travel which will open up Tuesday.
David told reporters that he would measure the inter-island air travel and Covid-19 to inform future decisions for opening the state for visitors.
“Inter-island gives us the opportunity to test our system and make sure we can keep our community safe,” David said, reported Hawaii News Now.
At the press conference, he told reporters that the phased reopening of the state will help the government and tourism industry prepare for the return of tourists and streamline new safety measures.
Travelers flying within the state from island to island will have to complete a health screening prior to boarding their flights. Passengers will have to undergo temperature checks utilizing thermal temperature screening or facial recognition cameras utilizing thermal temperature technology to spot those with temperatures above 100.4 among thousands of people. Travelers with temperatures 100.4 degrees and above will automatically not be allowed to board the plane.
Hawaii is embracing facial recognition when other companies and states are backing off of the technology due to privacy concerns.
“Facial recognition will allow us to recognize people who are exceeding the 100.4 temperature as they walk through the terminal,” David said expressing that the cameras will only take photos of people who have a fever.
Hawaii’s Department of Transportation is considering other technology as part of the screening process.
Travelers should expect to begin seeing thermal scanners at airports statewide starting in mid-July. Facial recognition cameras should be operating by the end of the year, reported Hawaii News Now.
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