Mostly virus-free Kauai hit by pandemic after travel resumes
Early and aggressive local measures coupled with a strictly enforced statewide travel quarantine kept Kauai's 72,000 residents mostly healthy โ the island had only 61 known coronavirus cases from March through September. Kauai officials have decided the cost of vacationing in paradise, for now, is too high. Kauai officials say the single-test scheme did not do enough to protect the people who live there. Visitor numbers have since increased with the testing program, but only to about a third of pre-pandemic levels. Travel โintroduces a continuous stream of new infections,โ said Dr. Janet Berreman, Kauai's officer for the state health department.
Police: Couple flew to Hawaii despite positive COVID tests
HONOLULU โ A couple were arrested at a Hawaii airport after traveling from the U.S. mainland despite knowing they were infected with COVID-19, authorities said. The couple took a COVID-19 test in Seattle after returning from abroad, police said, then received their positive results while flying between Seattle and San Francisco. โOfficials notified the couple of positive test results and directed them to isolate.โBut the two, who had a layover in San Francisco, decided to continue on to Hawaii over the weekend. โThey knowingly boarded a flight aware of their positive COVID-19 test results, placing the passengers of the flight in danger of death,โ Kauai police said. Effective Wednesday, all travelers to Kauai must spend 14 days in quarantine regardless of whether they obtain a negative COVID-19 test.