Gov. David Ige Thursday afternoon announced that the 14-day mandatory quarantine for interisland travelers will go back into effect on Tuesday due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Because of the surge in cases on Oahu, all the county mayors agreed that additional measures are necessary to make sure that cases do not spread uncontrolled across all counties,” Ige said during a live-streamed press conference. “Today, I am announcing that effective Tuesday, Aug. 11, we will be reinstating the mandatory 14-day interisland quarantine.”
The announcement comes about a month and a half after Ige lifted the quarantine requirement for travel between the counties on June 16. Ige initially imposed the 14-day quarantine for interisland travel April 1.
“From the beginning, we have all stated that the health care capacity is a key indicator that we need to monitor to ensure that the number of COVID-19 cases does not overwhelm our hospitals and our health care system,” Ige said. “While our health care system has managed and can manage the current level of cases, the hospitals have warned that if this continues and the trend continues we will begin to reach a critical point that can overwhelm the health care system.”
Health Director Dr. Bruce Anderson meanwhile announced approximately 200 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. The number was not specific due to “issues with electronic laboratory reporting from a private clinical lab.”
On Wednesday, 173 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, all on Oahu, bringing the statewide tally to 2,763.
“We need to take personal responsibility and take action against COVID-19 here we all know that it is the only way for us to be successful we have to all take personal responsibility and take every action that we can n the fight against COVID-19,” Ige said, referring to wearing facial coverings, avoiding large gatherings and staying home when ill. “We have all worked together and we can only be successful as a community in this fight against COVID.”