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<br /> <br />Roy Takemoto <br /> <br />Managing Director <br /> <br /> <br />Harry Kim <br />Mayor <br /> <br />Barbara J. Kossow <br /> Deputy Managing Director <br /> <br />County of Hawai‘i <br />Office of the Mayor <br />25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603  Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720  (808) 961-8211  Fax (808) 961-6553 <br />KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Hwy., Bldg C  Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740 <br />(808) 323-4444  Fax (808) 323-4440 <br /> <br />October 6, 2020 <br />NEWS RELEASE <br /> <br />Mayor Kim Seeks Post-Travel Testing to Ensure Community’s Safety <br />Hawai‘i County Mayor Harry Kim said on Tuesday he wants to establish a round of <br />post-travel testing as well as pre-travel testing for COVID-19, to ensure the safety of <br />the community as Hawai‘i tries to reopen amid the pandemic. <br /> “I just don’t think we should take the risk with one COVID-19 test taken up to three days <br />before travelling,” Mayor Kim said. “There are so many variables involved in a pre-travel <br />test that could make the tests unreliable; we have to have a second test upon arrival in <br />Hawai‘i.” <br />The number of potential positive cases being introduced to the community would pose <br />too high of a risk, Mayor Kim said. Approximately 2,000 visitors are coming to Hawai‘i <br />every day, with an estimated 5,000 arrivals a day once the one-test policy goes into <br />effect. <br />The Mayor said he and the other three mayors on Tuesday discussed a two-test policy <br />for transpacific travel, instead of the policy that goes into effect on October 15, whereby <br />a single negative result of a test taken up to three days before travel would eliminate the <br />need to quarantine for 14 days. <br />“We need time to work out the logistics of administering a second test, but it will be <br />worth it,” Mayor Kim said. He said a definitive decision would be forthcoming this week. <br />Currently, all travelers arriving in Hawai‘i must quarantine for 14 days after arrival from <br />the Mainland. Interisland travel from O‘ahu and between the Neighbor Islands is also <br />subject to the 14-day quarantine. <br />County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. <br />