COVID-19 has presented Hawaii with the greatest health, economic and societal challenges of our time. It has disrupted and seismically altered the way we live, work and connect with one another, as we face the daily threat it has introduced into our lives. And it’s not over yet. What we do next and our ability to step up as individuals and collectively as a community will determine our future for generations to come.

As health-care representatives on the House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness, we are focused on combating and managing the virus but are also mindful of its broader health and social implications. The economic hardship resulting from our response to the virus now poses a threat to our communities that could be catastrophic and long-lasting.

Today, we are asking the public to stack hands on the successful implementation of the state’s Safe Travels and pre-travel testing program, along with supporting everything else we must do to preserve and protect our home and restore our economy.

We must find a way to safely address the alarming fact that we are currently the worst state in the nation as measured by our overall economic performance (GDP) and our high rate of unemployment. The state’s Safe Travels program may not be perfect right out of the gate, but it gives us a fighting chance to revive our economy and address one of the most significant public health threats to our future.

We believe that restoring the economic future of our state starts with ensuring our health, which is directly tied to the economic health of our community. It is a balance that requires us to move safely, but move forward. As we gear up for a gradual increase of visitors and for residents to return to work, here are three basic principles that we believe need to happen:

1. Build the proper public health infrastructure

Managing public health during a pandemic of this magnitude is not easy and requires significant collaboration between the state, counties and private health-care partners.

Government officials have taken action to address gaps in the health-care system, including procuring more tests and equipment and staffing more than 500 contact tracers in recent weeks. They are also opening quarantine facilities for potential cases and have brought in additional nurses on a temporary basis to strengthen our health-care system.

We learn new information about COVID-19 almost daily, and the governor’s new COVID-19 leadership team is managing this pandemic based on what we know today and by adjusting as new information comes available.

2. Practice safe behavior

We must all take responsibility for our community’s health and safety.

This is something we must all demonstrate every day through our own personal behaviors. It means we must all wear our masks, avoid gatherings, practice proper hygiene (especially washing our hands), isolate when sick, be mindful of social distancing, and get vaccinated during flu season.

The fact that our infection case counts and test positivity rates have decreased in recent weeks indicates that thanks to more people practicing these behaviors, we are already making progress.

3. Ensure travel safety

We must ensure that visitors and returning residents traveling to Hawaii arrive with an acceptably low infection rate.

The pre-arrival testing program that launched on Oct. 15 (which requires travelers to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure to avoid quarantine on arrival) does this by making it extremely likely that the prevalence of infection on the plane is LOWER than the prevalence in our state.

Layered with the state’s other safety measures including health-screening forms, infrared thermal testing at Hawaii airports, safety protocols by airlines and hotels, and vigilance in the hospitality industry, we believe the state is approaching the reopening of travel in a safe and responsible manner.

Build proper public health infrastructure. Practice safe behavior. Ensure travel safety. If we follow these three principles, we can adapt to life with the virus until a better solution comes along. More importantly, we’ll be protecting Hawaii for us today and for our children tomorrow.

Dr. Jill Hoggard Green is CEO of Queen’s Health Systems; Dr. Mark Mugiishi is CEO of HMSA; Raymond P. Vara, Jr. is CEO of Hawaii Pacific Health