(AP) — Tourists are traveling to Hawaiʻi in larger numbers than anticipated, and many are wandering around Waikiki without masks, despite a statewide mandate to wear them in public. The Hawaiʻi Safe Travels program reported that about 28,000 people flew into and throughout the islands on Saturday, March 20, 2021. That’s the highest number of travelers to the islands for a single day since the pandemic began. Before the pandemic, Hawaiʻi had about 30,000 arrivals daily. In October, the state launched a pre-travel testing program that allows visitors to sidestep quarantine rules. But travel remained sluggish until the second week in March, when spring break tourists started arriving in the islands.

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