Experts eye more travel testing to contain COVID in Hawaii

By CALEB JONES
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii officials are facing pressure to increase COVID-19 testing for travelers. The islands are weathering a record surge, and federal guidelines are being changed to require negative virus tests from both vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers to the U.S. State leaders have resisted the implementation of a two-test policy for arriving travelers despite evidence that more COVID-19 testing would help reduce the spread of disease, especially in an isolated destination like Hawaii. Earlier this summer, the state removed all testing requirements for vaccinated people. And even with a single pre-flight test for unvaccinated travelers, experts say infected passengers can easily slip through the cracks.