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More than 450 visitors arrive in Hawaii on Sunday despite 14-day quarantine

Nina Wu
STAR-ADVERTISER / FILE
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STAR-ADVERTISER / FILE

The number of daily visitor arrivals flying to Hawaii remained above 400 on Sunday despite a mandatory, 14-day quarantine that remains in place for at least another month.

Of the 1,633 people who flew in to the state via 20 flights on Sunday, 501 were returning residents, 461 visitors, and 91 planning to relocate to Hawaii.

The count also included 185 crew, 165 military, 113 who were exempt from the quarantine, and 117 in transit, meaning they were on the way somewhere out of the state without leaving the airport.

Visitor arrivals have fallen dramatically since Gov. David Ige on March 26 ordered all travelers to Hawaii to quarantine for 14 days in order to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. The order, which expanded to include interisland travelers in April, was lifted for in-state travelers June 16.

At the same time last year, about 35,000 passengers arrived in Hawaii daily, including visitors and residents.

Starting Aug. 1, passengers with approved negative COVID-19 tests taken within 72 hours of their trip to Hawaii can bypass the quarantine. Hotels throughout the state are gearing up for the restart of out-of-state tourism, considered an economic engine for the Aloha state.

For the month of June, an average of 460 visitors have been arriving daily in Hawaii. On Saturday, 481 visitors arrived in the islands.

The number of daily visitors peaked June 7, as 667 people flew into Hawaii that day.

The majority of the visitors on Sunday, 387, flew to Oahu, while 56 flew to Kona, and 18 to Maui.

On the state’s mandatory travel declaration form, roughly 67% — or 260 — said they were visiting friends and family, while about 10% — or 40 — said they were on vacation, and 9.8%, or 38, were on business. Another 24 did not answer the question.

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