Hawaii Gov. David Ige is asking vacationers to remain house and delay any trip plans within the area till not less than November because the state’s covid-19 case numbers soar. Hawaii is averaging about 650 new instances a day, a troubling uptick from a month in the past when the state was averaging simply 138 instances per day.

“I have asked that all non-essential travel for residents and visitors to Hawaii be delayed or curtailed through the end of October,” Ige stated throughout a livestream interview with the Star Advertiser.

“I’ve been on calls with all the airlines and I’ve talked with the hotel industry to support this requirement. I think it’s important that we reduce the number of visitors coming here to the islands,” Ige continued.

Ultimately, all of it comes right down to Hawaii’s well being care system, which is being pressured like so many different hospital techniques around the globe.

“It is about hospital capacity and our ability to take care of those that need care,” Ige stated.

Ige pointed to New York City’s vaccine mandate for workers and clients at locations like bars and eating places as a mannequin that Hawaii might emulate for its personal hospitality business, however the query can be find out how to confirm everybody’s vaccination standing. Ige stated it’s solely doable that Hawaii might create its personal standalone cellphone app or an internet site to confirm that guests had acquired a vaccine.

Hawaii has saved instances comparatively low all through the pandemic with strict guidelines round journey. The state banned guests from months and required anybody who was visiting to self-quarantine for 10 days. Health officers in Hawaii additionally used to require that each one guests take a pre-travel take a look at for coronavirus, a requirement that stopped final month.

Hawaii at present bans outside gatherings of greater than 25 individuals and indoor gatherings of greater than 10. Restaurants can solely function at 50% capability and masks are required indoors besides when consuming and consuming. The guidelines are in place till October 18, although they could possibly be prolonged.

The state has been tremendously profitable at getting its individuals vaccinated, with 62% of all individuals over 12 years outdated full vaccinated, the seventh finest price of all states within the U.S., in keeping with Johns Hopkins University.

But right here’s an enormous age discrepancy whenever you drill down on Hawaii’s vaccination numbers. The cohort with the very best vaccination price is 65-74 yr olds, with 95.9% of individuals in that age group vaccinated. But simply 51.2% of children aged 12-17 are vaccinated, and youngsters beneath 12 aren’t eligible to be vaccinated. And that’s exactly why we’re seeing so many youngsters getting covid-19, thanks largely to the delta variant, which is extremely transmissible.

If you have got an upcoming trip to Hawaii, see should you can reschedule, even should you’re vaccinated. Because whereas vaccination is a superb device that’s more likely to hold you out of the hospital, even people who find themselves vaccinated can get and unfold the delta variant to others. Do your half. Hawaii will nonetheless be there after October, we promise.