After false positives, Hawaii County considers nixing post-arrival test for travelers
By Allyson Blair | October 20, 2020 at 4:39 PM HST - Updated October 20 at 5:16 PM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Nine travelers who tested positive for COVID-19 in post-arrival screening on the Big Island turned out not to be infected with the virus. That’s according to the doctor in charge of the island’s post-arrival testing program. Those alarming false positives are leading to more doubts about testing at the airport. Late Tuesday, Mayor Harry Kim confirmed he’s debating whether to make changes to the program ― or end it all together.
During a phone interview, Kim told HNN that officials in Hawaii County are currently reviewing all the data collected over the past week.
He said they will make a decision on whether to continue the islands required post-arrival tests by midnight Wednesday.
Right now, every traveler who arrives on Hawaii Island is required to get an antigen test before they can leave the airport.
