Hawaii Governor David Ige encouraged potential tourists not to visit the islands amid a wave of coronavirus cases, saying it’s “a risky time to travel right now.”
“I encourage everyone to restrict and reduce travel to Hawaii,” Ige said during a news conference Monday. “It’s not a good time to travel to the islands.”
Ige said travel should be limited to “only essential business activities.” Visitors, he said, will not have the “typical” vacation they would expect, as restaurant capacity has been restricted and rental vehicles are limited.
Ige’s warning comes as Hawaii continues to see an increase in COVID cases and hospitals have reached their capacity. There have been more than 9,300 new cases in the past two weeks, according to the state health department. Most of the new cases have been to Oahu, one of the most popular Hawaiian destinations for travelers.
“We are seeing more patients with COVID in our hospitals and the ICUs are filling up,” Ige said Monday. “We know we must act now to reduce the spread of COVID and ensure that our hospitals are not invaded.”
Dr. Elizabeth Char, director of the state health department, said in a statement that the increase in COVID is mainly due to the spread of the community and people flying to the most popular areas and “to recover COVID “.
“If things don’t change, our health systems will be paralyzed,” Char said, “and those who need medical attention for all sorts of illnesses, injuries, and conditions, including our visitors, may have difficulty getting the treatment they need. they need out. “
Char said COVID cases have increased “over the past 10 Mondays.”
The president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, John De Fries, said the number of visitors is starting to decline, something typical as autumn approaches.
“Our community, residents and the visitor industry, are responsible for working together to address this crisis,” De Fries said in a statement. “As such, we are strongly advising visitors that now is not the right time to travel and that they should postpone their travel until the end of October.”
Ige also reiterated the importance of proper hygiene, wearing masks, distancing oneself socially and getting vaccinated to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as the importance of testing to be able to track the spread.
“We know that vaccines are effective in preventing death and serious illness, including hospitalizations,” Ige said, noting that the Pfizer vaccine received full FDA approval a few hours before his press conference.
According to the state, 62% of Hawaiian citizens have been completely vaccinated.