Mayor Roth’s Release Statement on Post-arrival Testing for Trans-Pacific Travelers to Hawaiʻi County

“Between the dates of December 15, 2020, and March 31, 2021, the County of Hawaiʻi relinquished all fiscal responsibility related to post-arrival airport testing to our private philanthropist partners who created a new contract with Premier Medical Group (PMG). We did, however, oversee the daily operations of the Hilo and Kona airports during the same period. When an agreement could no longer be reached between PMG and our partners, we took back fiscal responsibility on April 1. In our resumption of fiscal responsibility for airport testing, we chose to seek lower testing rates, as public monies would incur the cost. PMG had notified us of a steep increase in rates, which led us to part ways.

Moving forward, our administration intends to ween off of the post-arrival testing program by first reducing testing to only those trans-pacific travelers that are unable to prove that they have been vaccinated. We will be the first in the State to do so and look forward to piloting that program. The State’s Safe Travels program will remain in effect for ALL trans-Pacific travelers. Our island has remained one of the safest places to live in our Nation, and we are proud of the work that has gone into keeping it that way. With the introductions of vaccines as an added layer of protection, we feel it is time to begin the return to normalcy, including reducing added pressures on our airlines, airports, kamaʻāina, and visitors. As always, we will continue to monitor our numbers and adjust as necessary to ensure our community’s health and safety. Until then, we will continue to seek innovative solutions to get our community back on track and return to a happy, healthy, and thriving Hawaiʻi County.”