Governor David Ige, in a Thursday press conference, said he is considering removing the interisland travel 14-day mandatory quarantine, but gave no date as to when that might happen.

He said he is talking with the four County mayors, and with the airlines about how things might work once the travel quarantine is removed.  He said in order to reopen interisland travel, there has to be adequate screening and testing for COVID-19, and the ability to trace the contacts of those who prove positive for the virus.   He said once interisland travel reopens and businesses reopen, there will likely be an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.   He said the state’s hospital and ICU bed availability is sufficient to handle an increase in cases.

Hawaiian Airlines, the state’s primary interisland carrier,  started requiring passengers to wear masks on May 8, and prior to that implemented new deep-cleaning procedures for planes to keep passengers and airline employees safe.

Gov. Ige did not say when he might make a decision on removing the quarantine for interisland travelers.  He also said the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming into the state would be in effect longer than the interisland quarantine.