Roth asks Ige to reinstate pretravel testing, even for those who are vaccinated

Mayor Mitch Roth today urged Gov. David Ige to immediately reinstate pretravel testing requirements for all trans-Pacific passengers, regardless of residency or vaccination status, as the county struggles amid an ongoing surge of COVID-19.

“The consistent rise of COVID-19 cases within the state of Hawaii and across the country has reached record heights and has put an unbearable strain on our health systems and communities at-large,” Roth wrote in a letter to Ige today, which was shared this afternoon on social media. “On Hawaii Island alone, our hospitals are at capacity and are unable to in-take any more critical care patients.”

With limited hospital capacity, Hawaii County will be taking “drastic measures” to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus but will rely on the state to mitigate travel-related spread “while we work to mitigate community spread by whatever means necessary.”

The letter did not specify what other measures the county will take.

“After visiting all of our island’s three major hospitals this week, it has become abundantly clear that we need to take immediate action to slow the spread of COVID-19 and alleviate the mounting pressures on our hospital systems,” said Cyrus Johnasen, a spokesman for Roth. “Although we understand that travel-related spread is only a portion of the total case counts in our county, we believe it is a step that must be taken to keep our residents healthy and safe.

“We must, however, take it upon ourselves to do the little things like wearing a mask, distancings, limiting our gatherings, and most importantly, getting vaccinated to truly stop the spread in our communities. It’s all of our kuleana.”

Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.