Hawaii lawmakers are considering a bill that would standardize the state’s pandemic travel restrictions across the islands, a departure from the current system that allows individual counties to create their own modified safety measures.
Members of the House Finance Committee heard testimony on the bill Thursday.
Currently, island counties have the option to opt out of the state’s “Safe Travels” program, which requires a single negative COVID-19 test before departure for Hawaii to avoid a mandatory quarantine. Counties can either require people to quarantine for 10 days, implement additional screening requirements such as secondary testing or create modified quarantines.
Any departures from the state plan must be approved by the…