Hawaii County Reduce Number of COVID-19 Tests Administered at Airport

Tourism officials in Hawaii County have announced a reduction to the number of COVID-19 tests being conducted after less than one percent came back positive.

According to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim said 12,636 post-flight tests were administered on the island as of last Monday and less than one percent came back positive for coronavirus.

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In total, 97 of the post-flight antigen tests administered came back positive, which led to additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The more accurate test showed that only 17 travelers were COVID-19 positive.

As a result, only 25 percent of the travelers who arrive at Onizuka International Airport in Kona will be given a post-flight antigen test. With random testing deemed illegal, Hawaii County officials are working on how to select travelers for testing.

“I don’t drink, but they tell me that it’s the same principle as pulling over random cars for a DUI test,” Kim told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. “They’re not allowed to just pick cars at random, but they could pick, say, every 10th car or something like that.”

“There’s one way that’s better than anything else to keep the case numbers down,” Kim continued. “And that’s follow the rules and keep everyone safe.”

While the reduced number of tests remains in effect for now, Kim made it clear an increased number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hawaii would result in a return to the original rate of post-flight tests.

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