Today, Mayor Mitch Roth announced a partnership between a private philanthropist and the County of Hawaiʻi that will ensure the continuation of Trans-Pacific Arrival Testing through January 15, 2021. The post-arrival testing is unique to Hawaiʻi County and was outlined in the Mayor’s COVID-19 Emergency Rule No. 13. The testing which is currently funded by CARES monies was slated to end this month, as CARES funds are no longer available after the end of the month.  Some CARES funding was set to stop yesterday.

Trans-Pacific Arrival testing has acted as an added layer of protection for Hawaiʻi Island residents since the return of tourism, having detected 45 positive cases in travelers who had received the State’s negative test exemption.

“It has been humbling to work alongside vested members of our community, the hotel industry, and generous philanthropists who share in a deep sense of aloha and responsibility for our island home to find immediate solutions that help to keep our community safe”, Roth said from his office in Hilo. “It is my hope that these types of public-private partnerships will become a cornerstone of our administration.  We thank all of those who worked tirelessly to meet the deadline to ensure that no days of testing were missed.”

Previously, former Mayor Harry Kim had said the County was spending around $80,000 per day for the post-travel testing.  The Mayor’s Public Information Officer, Cyrus Johnasen, said he will provide the actual donation figure later.